Christopher "Chris" Tucker (born August 31, 1971) is an American actor and comedian, best known for his roles as Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour trilogy and Smokey in the 1995 film Friday. Tucker was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the youngest son of Mary Louise and Norris Tucker. Tucker was raised in Decatur, Georgia. After graduating from Columbia High School, he moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy and movies. In 1992, Tucker was a frequent performer on Def Comedy Jam. He made his cinematic debut in House Party 3, and gained greater film recognition alongside rapper Ice Cube in the 1995 film Friday. In 1997, he co-starred with Charlie Sheen in Money Talks, and alongside Bruce Willis in The Fifth Element. Tucker did not reprise his role of Smokey in Next Friday (2000) because he had become a born-again Christian after filming Money Talks (1997).He later starred in the 1998 martial arts action comedy Rush Hour and its sequels, Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3, in which he played James Carter, an abrasive wise-cracking detective. Tucker is good friends with fellow Rush Hour star Jackie Chan, and was also close friends with the late singer Michael Jackson, introducing and dancing with him at his 30th Anniversary Special, appearing in Jackson's video "You Rock My World" from his 2001 album Invincible and attending Jackson's memorial service. A friend of Bill Clinton, Tucker has traveled with the former President overseas, though he endorsed Barack Obama rather than Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primaries. On February 13, 2009, Tucker participated in the NBA All-Star Weekend's Celebrity Game.
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Biography from TMDB.
- August 31, 1971 (55)
- Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Actor, also producer and writer
- 18 on MovieCove · 20 credits in all
What are Chris Tucker's films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Bonds and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 14
Light 10 · Serious 3 · Dark 2
Grounded 8 · Stylized 6 · Heightened 1
Gentle 5 · Charged 6 · Intense 4
Steady 6 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 2
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 4 · Funny 7
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 4
Casual 9 · Engaged 5 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 11 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 3
Resolved 13 · Open-ended 2 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
Usually the Trickster: 6 of 11 analyzed roles.
Show the 11 rolesHide the roles
- Tricksteras Skip in Dead Presidents (1995)
- Allyas Smokey in Friday (1995)
- Tricksteras Ruby Rhod in The Fifth Element (1997)
- Heroas Franklin Hatchett in Money Talks (1997)
- Tricksteras Franklin Hatchett in Money Talks (1997)
- Heroas Carter in Rush Hour (1998)
- Heroas Carter in Rush Hour 2 (2001)
- Tricksteras Carter in Rush Hour 2 (2001)
- Tricksteras Carter in Rush Hour 3 (2007)
- Allyas Danny in Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
- Tricksteras Albert in Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (2016)
Moods and endings
- Happy12
- Bittersweet2
- Tragic1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Chris Tucker's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 14 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (5).
Subscription and free streaming for Chris Tucker's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
20 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page; 24 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Air(2023)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Chris Tucker Live(2015)
Midcredits score: 54th percentile of all films
Silver Linings Playbook(2012)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Rush Hour 3(2007)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Michael Jackson: The One(2004)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
Rush Hour 2(2001)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Def Comedy Jam: All Stars 2 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Def Comedy Jam, Vol. 7 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Rush Hour(1998)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Jackie Brown(1997)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Money Talks(1997)
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
The Fifth Element(1997)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
Dead Presidents(1995)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Panther(1995)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films
Friday(1995)
Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films
House Party 3(1994)
Midcredits score: 21st percentile of all films
The Meteor Man(1993)
Midcredits score: 26th percentile of all films
Hangin' with Mr. Cooper(1992)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all shows
Roseanne(1988)
Midcredits score: 48th percentile of all shows
Career shape
Star power in the 98th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 19 titles from 1988 to 2023; peak year 1996.
Biggest box office
Rush Hour 2 (2001)
Highest rated
Michael Jackson: The One (2004)
Most popular right now
The Fifth Element (1997)
Film career
Peak 1996 · fewer prominent film roles lately. Top draw in 3 MovieCove titles. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 1993Screen debut· The Meteor Man
- 1997First top-billed film· Money Talks
- 1998Career best· Rush Hour
- 2012Screen Actors Guild Award nomination· Silver Linings Playbook
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30; the columns are the share of top-billed roles in each era, 5-year spans from the year on the label, merged until each holds at least 5 roles.
Awards
Nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2013, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Chris Tucker's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 76th percentile, the median of all 16; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 79th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th5
- 25th to 49th3
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
9 of their 18 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved5
- Crowd Pleaser9
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the acting 73/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 43. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Chris Tucker's work okay for kids?
Across up to 11 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore, sex & nudity and profanity run heavier than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Chris Tucker work with?
People who share at least 2 of Chris Tucker's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Brett Ratner shares the most, 6.
Directors
- Brett RatnerShared titles: Jackie Chan - Humour, gloire et kung-fu (2021), Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour 2 (2001), A Piece of the Action: Behind the Scenes of 'Rush Hour' (1999), Rush Hour (1998), Money Talks (1997)See all 6 shared titles with Brett Ratner
Writers
- Jeff NathansonShared titles: Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour 2 (2001)See all 2 shared titles with Jeff Nathanson
- Ross LaMannaShared titles: Rush Hour 2 (2001), Rush Hour (1998)See all 2 shared titles with Ross LaManna
Actors
- Jackie ChanShared titles: Jackie Chan - Humour, gloire et kung-fu (2021), Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour 2 (2001), A Piece of the Action: Behind the Scenes of 'Rush Hour' (1999), Rush Hour (1998)See all 5 shared titles with Jackie Chan
- Tom Lister Jr.Shared titles: Jackie Brown (1997), The Fifth Element (1997), Friday (1995)See all 3 shared titles with Tom Lister Jr.
- Robert De NiroShared titles: Silver Linings Playbook (2012), Jackie Brown (1997)See all 2 shared titles with Robert De Niro
- Philip Baker HallShared titles: Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour (1998)See all 2 shared titles with Philip Baker Hall
Composers and editors
- Lalo SchifrinShared titles: Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour 2 (2001), Rush Hour (1998), Money Talks (1997)See all 4 shared titles with Lalo Schifrin
- Mark HelfrichShared titles: Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour 2 (2001), Rush Hour (1998), Money Talks (1997)See all 4 shared titles with Mark Helfrich
- Danny ElfmanShared titles: Silver Linings Playbook (2012), Dead Presidents (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Danny Elfman
Producers
- Jay SternShared titles: Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour 2 (2001), Rush Hour (1998), Money Talks (1997)See all 4 shared titles with Jay Stern
- Roger BirnbaumShared titles: Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour 2 (2001), A Piece of the Action: Behind the Scenes of 'Rush Hour' (1999), Rush Hour (1998)See all 4 shared titles with Roger Birnbaum
- Arthur SarkissianShared titles: Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour 2 (2001), Rush Hour (1998)See all 3 shared titles with Arthur Sarkissian
- Jonathan GlickmanShared titles: Rush Hour 3 (2007), Rush Hour 2 (2001), Rush Hour (1998)See all 3 shared titles with Jonathan Glickman
