- Kevin Hart, the world’s highest-paid comedian in 2024, says a key to success is learning to embrace rejection and failure. In an interview with Fortune, the entertainer and entrepreneur reflected on the times where he was told “no” in his career, and how he used that as a tool to grow.
Kevin Hart knows a thing or two about success. He has over 177 million followers on Instagram. His entertainment company, Hartbeat, was valued at $650 million last year. And according to Forbes, Kevin Hart made $81 million in 2024, making him the world’s highest-paid comedian—as well as the third-highest paid entertainer, pulling in more than Hollywood icons like Brad Pitt and George Clooney.
In an interview with Fortune, Hart said a key reason behind his success is his ability to learn from his failures—and to “embrace” rejection.
Despite Hart’s many hits at the box office—films where he’s a leading actor have grossed over $1.08 billion worldwide; that number exceeds $3.6 billion if you include his supporting roles—his road to success was marked by several notable rejections.
“I can’t narrow it down to one,” Hart told Fortune. “Not getting into comedy clubs early on in my career. Not getting chosen for comedy festivals early on in my career. Not getting movie roles that I thought were perfect roles for me. Not getting SNL when I thought SNL was the biggest and best thing for me.”
“There are so many things that, if they would have happened, my career wouldn’t have shaped up into what it is today,” he added.
He’s not alone. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon was rejected twice by the firm before leading it to more than $50 billion in revenue. The Scrub Daddy sponge was initially snubbed before becoming a massive success. And astronaut Mike Massimino was turned down by NASA three times before making it to space.
Turning rejection into success
Hart said it can be difficult to see the big picture in those moments where you’re told “no,” but down the line, “you later discover those moments were some of the best for you, that made you work harder,” Hart said.
The 45-year-old Philadelphia native said it’s vital to believe rejection can be an “asset”—a tool to motivate you, but also to force you to adapt.
“Without it, you don’t have anything to learn from or anything to adjust to,” he said. “If things were easy, it would be stupid. It’s supposed to be hard. You’re supposed to understand that the reason for hard work and putting 100% into a craft is because of what you want to get out from it.”
Hart said not getting everything you want will make you want those things even more.
“As a person that has experienced rejection on so many levels, I embrace it,” he said. “To this day, everything doesn’t go the way I want. But just because one roadmap didn’t work, it doesn’t mean you can’t create another. And that’s where I find the most joy in the business that I’m operating in today.”
Read more from Fortune‘s interview with Kevin Hart:
