Kevin Hart is hopeful 'Fatherhood' can help reverse false stereotypes about Black dads

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 6/1/21

Kevin Hart is a father of four—16-year-old Heaven, 13-year-old Hendrix, three-year-old Kenzo and eight-month-old Kaori—but his leading role in Netflix's forthcoming Fatherhood enveloped him in a story that no amount of parenting could have prepared him for.

The Paul Weitz-directed drama is based on a true story and subsequent Two Kisses for Maddy memoir written by Matt Logelin, who lost his high school sweetheart and wife, Liz, to a pulmonary embolism just 27 hours after their daughter was born. Hart portrays Matt as he tries to navigate grief and unexpectedly becoming a single dad.

"I love the opportunity of being a Black father onscreen in a positive light," Hart told Willie Geist for TODAY's "Sunday Sitdown" segment. "Most of the times, they're on drugs, off drugs, in jail, out of jail—to have some type of positivity behind it and maybe be a part of changing the stereotype."

The 41-year-old actor, comedian and producer shared a similar sentiment while visiting The Ellen DeGeneres Show last week—where he also discussed his real-life family, including his Heaven working as an intern for him at his HartBeat Productions:

Hart served as a producer on Fatherhood, as HartBeat secured an exclusive partnership with Netflix in January, and the film counts Barack and Michelle Obama's Higher Ground Productions among its backers.

"I actually did talk to Barack," Hart noted to Geist. "First of all, I think it's just crazy that I can say that I've talked to Barack on the phone comfortably. ... The reason why they wanted to take on the project was because of the story and having them see and understand the positive message behind it, that's as good as it gets for me."

Fatherhood will hit Netflix on June 18.

Watch the trailer below.