Filmography Martin Lawrence

Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence[2] (born April 16, 1965) is an American actor, comedian, director, and producer. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor. Lawrence has acted in numerous movie roles and starred in his own television series, Martin, which ran from 1992 to 1997. 
 
Lawrence moved to Los Angeles and found his way to the legendary Kings Wood comedy club. Shortly after appearing at the Wood, he won a performance spot on Star Search, a popular show in the United States.[2] He did well on the show and made it to the final round before ultimately losing. However, executives at Columbia TriStar Television saw Martin's performance and offered him an appearance on the television sitcom What's Happening Now!!; this was his first acting job.[2] Following What's Happening Now!!, Lawrence had bit parts in various films and television roles before entertainment mogul Russell Simmons personally selected him to host the groundbreaking series Def Comedy Jam on HBO. Def Comedy Jam gave many comedians (including Chris Tucker, Dave Chapelle, Bernie Mac and Cedric The Entertainer) mainstream exposure. In 1990, before Def Comedy Jam, Martin received a career breakthrough in film when he appeared in the movie-comedy, House Party alongside Christopher "Play" Martin and Christopher "Kid" Reid (popular duo Kid n' Play.) In House Party, Martin's character is "Bilal", the neighborhood DJ, who DJs at the party "Play" throws at his house while his parents are out of town. Tisha Campbell also plays alongside Martin in House Party, House Party 2 & 3, and ultimately co-stars opposite Martin in his hit sitcom, Martin. 
 
During his role in Def Comedy Jam, Lawrence appeared in his own hit series, Martin, which aired on Fox.[2] The show ran from 1992 to 1997 and was considered a success. He also hosted Saturday Night Live on February 19, 1994, where he made crude remarks on women's genitalia and personal hygiene. The monologue was later completely edited out of reruns and syndicated versions. As a result, Lawrence was banned from the show for the rest of his life. After Martin ended its run, Lawrence worked on many film projects most of which were in the comedy genre. He often starred in films as the second lead opposite actors including Eddie Murphy, Will Smith, and Tim Robbins.[2] Many of his films were blockbusters at the box office, including Boomerang (1992), Bad Boys (1995), Nothing To Lose (1997), Blue Streak (1999), Life (1999), Big Momma's House (2000) and Bad Boys 2 (2003). He also starred in critical and box office failures including Black Knight (2001) and National Security (2002). His salary increased dramatically to over $10 million per role. He continues to work in film, with his recent films including Big Momma's House 2, which opened #1 at the North American box office and grossed almost $28 million its first weekend,[6] and Wild Hogs (2007), where he played a bored suburbanite looking for adventure on the open road in a biker comedy alongside John Travolta, Tim Allen and William H. Macy. 
 
In 2006, Lawrence appeared on Inside the Actors Studio where he was requested by the studio audience to act out his famous characters he played on his Martin television show. To a great deal of excitement and cheering from the studio audience, Lawrence performed most of his characters again, out of wardrobe and with no lines. The audience became particularly excited when Lawrence acted out his Mama Payne, Sheneneh Jenkins, and Jerome characters. During the interview, when yet another character was named off for him to act out, Lawrence mentioned how he was surprised at how many characters he used to perform on the show. Once his Martin show ended, Lawrence never brought back any of his characters for another TV series or movie. 
 
In 2009, at the BET Awards, he appeared in a spoof trailer for a fictitious movie which featured him as his infamous character Sheneneh, and Jamie Foxx as his infamous character Wanda. 
 
Lawrence has reportedly signed on to star in an upcoming comedy titled Black To Africa. According to Variety, Lawrence will play a working-class man from Queens New York who discovers that he is the heir to the throne of an African country and travels there to claim his birthright. Lawrence will serve as a producer on the film, which will be released via his Runteldat imprint and Alcon Entertainment. A release date for the film has not been revealed.