Chris Rock

Chris Rock began his career as a stand-up comedian in 1984 at Catch a Rising Star in New York City. He made his film debut in Beverly Hills Cop II in 1987 and also appeared in I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (1988) and the television series Miami Vice.

Rock was a cast member of Saturday Night Live from 1990 to 1993. In 1991, he released his first comedy album, Born Suspect, and appeared in the film New Jack City as Pookie. After leaving Saturday Night Live, he appeared in six episodes of In Living Color in 1993 and wrote and starred in the film CB4 that same year. He hosted Saturday Night Live in 1996, 2014, 2020 and 2024.

Rock's HBO comedy specials include Big Ass Jokes (1994), Bring the Pain (1996), Bigger & Blacker (1999), Never Scared (2004) and Kill the Messenger (2008). He also hosted The Chris Rock Show, which aired on HBO. He released the comedy albums Roll with the New, Bigger & Blacker and Never Scared, and authored the book Rock This!. From 1994 to 1998, he voiced Lil Penny, the puppet alter ego of basketball player Penny Hardaway, in a series of Nike commercials. He hosted the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards.

Rock's film credits in the 1990s included Boomerang (1992), Sgt. Bilko (1996), Beverly Hills Ninja (1997), Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) and Dogma (1999). He starred in Nurse Betty in 2000.

In 2001, Rock co-wrote Down to Earth with Louis C.K. and produced and starred in Pootie Tang. He wrote, directed and starred in Head of State (2003) and wrote, directed and starred in I Think I Love My Wife (2007). He also starred in Bad Company (2002) and The Longest Yard (2005).

In 2005, Rock became executive producer and narrator of the television series Everybody Hates Chris, which was based loosely on his school days and ran through 2009. Beginning in 2005, he voiced Marty the zebra in the Madagascar animated film franchise, including Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008) and Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012). He voiced Mooseblood the Mosquito in Bee Movie (2007).

Rock released the documentary Good Hair in 2009. He also worked on the documentary Credit Is the Devil.

In 2010, Rock starred in Death at a Funeral and Grown Ups. He returned for Grown Ups 2 in 2013. In 2011, he appeared on Broadway in The MotherF*CKer with the Hat and received a Drama League Award nomination. In 2012, he starred in What to Expect When You're Expecting and 2 Days in New York. He also produced the television series Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell, which premiered in 2012.

In 2014, Rock wrote, directed and starred in Top Five. In 2015, he appeared at the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special and appeared as himself in A Very Murray Christmas. He also appeared as himself in Sandy Wexler (2017) and starred in The Week Of (2018). In 2019, he appeared in Dolemite Is My Name.

Rock directed and appeared in the music video for the Red Hot Chili Peppers song "Hump de Bump." He also appeared in the music videos for Big Daddy Kane's "Smooth Operator," Johnny Cash's "God's Gonna Cut You Down," Madonna's "Bitch I'm Madonna" and Lil Nas X's "Old Town Road."

In 2018, Rock released the Netflix stand-up special Chris Rock: Tamborine, filmed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music and directed by Bo Burnham. In 2020, he portrayed Loy Cannon in the fourth season of the television series Fargo. In 2021, he starred in the film Spiral, a spin-off of the Saw franchise.

In 2023, Rock released the Netflix stand-up special Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, which was streamed live from the Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore. The special received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including nominations for Rock for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) and Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.

In 2023, Rock was announced as the director of a planned biographical film about Martin Luther King Jr., with Steven Spielberg producing. The film is based on Jonathan Eig's biography King: A Life. In 2024, Rock was announced as the director of an English-language adaptation of Thomas Vinterberg's Another Round. He also wrote and was set to direct Misty Green.

Rock's other upcoming projects include directing the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic, directing the English-language adaptation of Another Round, and writing and directing Misty Green.