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First Look: Kevin Hart's Wild Ride To Fame Is Focus Of New Show

The comedy icon's hustle won't stop.

Kevin Hart's rise to the top of the food chain in Hollywood sometimes seems like it happened overnight, but it really took years of hard work and non-stop grinding for him to get where he is. Now, he has conquered the box office, can sell out stadiums for his comedy shows and is even a best-selling author.
He has hustled harder than almost anyone else in Hollywood to get where he is, and now he's putting all the life experiences (for better and worse) he's collected along the way into a brand-new digital sketch series called Stories With Kev
The Real Husbands of Hollywood star gave his BET.com family a first look at the series, along with some words from the actor who Kevin personally tapped to play him.

That honor goes to none other than Woody McClain. After depicting the iconic Bobby Brown in BET's the New Edition Story, McClain is keeping the momentum going with Stories With Kev, giving us a chance to see him really flex his comedy skills.

Stories With Kev chronicles Kevin's family life and early career in a series of hilarious short episodes. The series debuts on Hart's digital comedy app Laugh Out Loud, and McClain spoke exclusively with BET.com about what it feels like to play Kevin Hart.

(Photo: Greg Doherty/Getty Images)

Greg Doherty/Getty Images

(Photo: Greg Doherty/Getty Images)

How did McClain land such a coveted role? Turns out, he was hand-picked for it by Hart himself. "I landed the role by taking his 'Permission to Cuss' stand up and recreating what we all imagine what the story would've looked like," he tells BET.com. "Next day, I received a call and the rest is history."

The actor went on to add that he actually learned more about Hart not by interacting with him one-on-one, but by studying his work. "What's funny is I actually learned by watching Kevin do his stand up work," he said. "I felt like if I could get down his mannerisms, I could nail the role."

So, this role — it follows a pretty unique format that McClain says "gives us a great look on how Kevin viewed his relationship with his family and friends" through his own lens. While this role is definitely one to celebrate, fans, for now, still closely link McClain to his role as Brown. It's only natural to wonder: which icon was harder to portray?

"Bobby Brown," he said with a laugh. "I grew up watching comedy and all of my favorite comedians in movies. So I felt at home playing Kevin."

Both of these roles, in addition to his stint in BET's Tales, were McClain's first foray into acting, seeing him instantaneously shoot to stardom. So, how is he dealing with the sudden fame?

"The best part is seeing how proud my friends and family are," he said. "The worst is trying to find time to make everyone happy and still find time to focus on your career."

As Kevin knows better than anybody, it's all about balance.

Get your first look at Stories With Kev, below:

Stories With Kev premieres live on Laugh Out Loud on Friday, September 29, at 9:00 a.m. EST.

Watch Woody in action in another recent project in the BET clip, above.

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