Why Kevin James Keeps His Comedy Clean
By Movieguide® Contributor
Though he has reached the heights of stardom and comedy fame, Kevin James has stayed true to his family-friendly principles rather than marring his career with raunchy, immoral content.
When James was first starting his comedy career, he promised himself he would tell wholesome jokes—a very different approach than most comedians who rely on dirty jokes.
“[I avoided R-rated comedy] because I knew it was gonna prevent me from being able to get on a TV show,” James told CBS News. “I want my act to be able to go and play wherever. It’s like, I want to build an act that people can relate to.”
James’ approach quickly paid off, and he soon found himself given the opportunity to audition for SNL. Though he absolutely bombed the audition, James retained his resolve and shortly after landed a starring role in the sitcom THE KING OF QUEENS.
That role made James a staple in the industry, leading him to star in the PAUL BLART: MALL COP franchise and join Adam Sandler’s ensemble. Despite his incredible career, James has remained humble, understanding that everything has been given to him by God.
“If someone literally tapped me on the shoulder and God just said, ‘Hey, we know what’s going on, right?’ I’d go, ‘Yup. Where do I go? It’s all up? All right. It was a fun run, thank you!’” James said.
Because of this, James includes faith in his movies whenever possible. However, he does not force it into scenes where it would seem out of place.
“It’s a balancing act because I also don’t want it to be knocking people over the head with it. You don’t want to be preaching at people in film,” James told CBN last year.
He believes that the lack of faith in Hollywood and America as a whole is causing many of our country’s problems. Rather than glorifying himself and embracing his celebrity status, James relies on his faith to keep himself grounded.
“I think there’s a huge lack of faith. I think it’s like I said, it’s become more and more about me and what we can do, ‘me, me, me,’ and living for ourselves for this time,” James said. “I think it hurts us not only in the afterlife, but I think it also hurts us while you’re here. I think it hurts us to live that way while you’re on earth.”
He recently released a Prime Video comedy special that focuses on family-friendly topics.
“The highly anticipated, family-friendly special KEVIN JAMES: IRREGARDLESS delivers a hilariously unfiltered take on parenting, marriage, and getting older. As only James can, he covers a range of topics, from motivating children to put down their video games, to why he doesn’t trust technology, and how many Tater Tots he can fit in his mouth,” a press release reads.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Hollywood star Kevin James recently talked about his faith and reflected on his career in comedy, family-friendly movies like HERE COMES THE BOOM.
HERE COMES THE BOOM mirrors the story of David and Goliath and James reflected on “Goliath’s” in his life.
“My Goliath? I have tons of them. It’s raising your children the right way. It’s being a good husband. It’s being a good friend. It’s being a good son. It’s all these things. It’s doing the best in my work. In every way, it’s just becoming like that best version of myself that I can be. Honestly, that’s it, tackling it no matter what you do,” he told CBN News in an interview.
James recalled how his father would always take him and his family to church every Sunday and how faith became a vital role in his life from a young age.
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