Martin Lawrence
Highest Rated: 93% House Party (1990)
Lowest Rated: 5% Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (2011)
Birthday: Apr 16, 1965
Birthplace: Frankfurt, Germany
Actor/comedian Martin Lawrence started the 21st century off with a bang, starring and executive producing Big Momma's House, the story of an FBI agent posing as a corpulent Southern matriarch, which went on to gross more than 100 million dollars, despite universally negative reviews. The success of this film pushed Lawrence ever closer to joining the much-coveted 20-million-dollar club, cementing his reputation as one of the biggest comic stars for years to come.Lawrence was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on April 16, 1965, and eventually settled with his family in suburban Maryland around his sixth birthday. Soon after, his father left the family; Lawrence claims he got his start as a comedian by cheering up his mother, who was forced to support her six children by cashiering in various department stores. He attended Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Landover, MD, dabbling in sports and sticking with comedy, even agreeing to stop acting up in an art class in return for performing his stand-up routine in front of the other students.Soon after graduating, the bug-eyed performer earned a chance to perform on Star Search, which led to a role in 1985's What's Happening Now! Lawrence kept honing his frenetic schtick and by 1989, won two big breaks -- a supporting role in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing and MCing HBO's Def Comedy Jam. Lawrence continued to rack up scene-stealing roles throughout the early '90s, including parts in House Party, House Party 2, and Boomerang, eventually landing his own series on Fox in 1992, appropriately named Martin. The show became a huge success, its risqué humor making it a ratings stalwart for more than five years and winning two NAACP Image Awards in the process, although some detractors criticized Lawrence for promoting the image of an oversexed, insensitive black man.Two years after Martin's successful launch, Lawrence released You So Crazy!, a raunchy, vulgarity-laced comedy that originally received the NC-17 rating and was later released unrated. Its crudeness, however, didn't matter much to audiences, as You So Crazy! went on to become one of the highest-grossing concert films of its time.Lawrence appeared to have it all, professionally and privately; in 1995 he married former beauty queen Patricia Southall in a lavish ceremony and the pair had a daughter, Jasmine. Around this time, however, Lawrence's success story began to slip away, his off-camera behavior setting up what should someday be a fascinating E! True Hollywood Story.On the set of his directorial debut, A Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Lawrence erupted in a violent outburst and began taking psychotropic drugs. A few months later, he was arrested for another disturbance, where he reportedly brandished a pistol and screamed at tourists and others on Ventura Boulevard. Over the next two years, his behavior became even more erratic as he racked up a series of gun-related arrests. He landed in drug rehab and filed for divorce from Southall after she got a temporary restraining order against him for yet another vicious eruption.But the most bizarre and unsettling charges were yet to come. Tisha Campbell, Lawrence's co-star on Martin and the House Party films, filed suit against the star and the show's producers, HBO Studios, claiming Lawrence sexually harassed her to the point that she feared for her safety. The studio brokered a settlement that allowed Campbell to finish the show's final season, although she and Lawrence would never be on the soundstage together again.Despite all the trauma, Lawrence seemed as popular as ever. He starred in four hugely commercial successes between 1995 and 1999, including Bad Boys with Will Smith, Nothing to Lose with Tim Robbins, Life with Eddie Murphy, and on his own in Blue Streak. These films made Lawrence extremely bankable -- his salary broke the ten-million-dollar mark for Big Momma's House and it seemed as if his previous troubles were behind him.Then in 1999, while jogging to lose an extra few
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Highest Rated Movies
Filmography
Movies
| Credit | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 77% | Bad Boys for Life | Marcus Burnett | — | 2020 |
| 56% | The Beach Bum | Captain Wack | — | 2019 |
| No Score Yet | Def Comedy Jam 25 | Actor | — | 2017 |
| No Score Yet | Martin Lawrence: Doin' Time: Uncut | Actor | — | 2016 |
| No Score Yet | The Skank Robbers | Producer Wanda | — | 2013 |
| 5% | Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son | Executive Producer | $38M | 2011 |
| No Score Yet | Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son (Extended Cut) | Actor | — | 2011 |
| 42% | Death at a Funeral | Ryan | $16.1M | 2010 |
| 12% | College Road Trip | James Porter | $45.6M | 2008 |
| 23% | Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins | Roscoe Jenkins | $42.2M | 2008 |
| 14% | Wild Hogs | Bobby Davis | $168.3M | 2007 |
| No Score Yet | The Robin Harris Story: We Don't Die, We Multiply | Actor | — | 2006 |
| 48% | Open Season | Boog | $84.4M | 2006 |
| 6% | Big Momma's House 2 | Executive Producer Malcolm Turner | $70.2M | 2006 |
| 14% | Rebound | Roy McCormick/Preacher Don Executive Producer | $16.8M | 2005 |
| No Score Yet | Before They Were Kings Vol 2 | Actor | — | 2005 |
| 23% | Bad Boys II | Det. Marcus Burnett | $138.4M | 2003 |
| 11% | National Security | Executive Producer Earl Montgomery | $35.8M | 2003 |
| 39% | Martin Lawrence Live - Runteldat | Actor Executive Producer | $19.1M | 2002 |
| 14% | Black Knight | Jamal Walker Executive Producer | $33.4M | 2001 |
| 10% | What's the Worst That Could Happen? | Kevin Caffrey Executive Producer | $31.1M | 2001 |
| 30% | Big Momma's House | Malcolm Executive Producer | $0.5M | 2000 |
| 36% | Blue Streak | Miles Logan | — | 1999 |
| 50% | Life | Claude Banks | — | 1999 |
| 28% | Nothing to Lose | T. Paul | — | 1997 |
| 12% | A Thin Line Between Love and Hate | Executive Producer Screenwriter Darnell Wright Director | — | 1996 |
| No Score Yet | Nueba Yol | Producer | — | 1996 |
| 43% | Bad Boys | Marcus Burnett | — | 1995 |
| 50% | Martin Lawrence: You So Crazy | Executive Producer Himself | — | 1994 |
| 44% | Boomerang | Tyler | — | 1992 |
| 21% | House Party 2 | Bilal | — | 1991 |
| No Score Yet | Talkin' Dirty After Dark | Terry | — | 1991 |
| 93% | House Party | Bilal | — | 1990 |
| 93% | Do the Right Thing | Cee | — | 1989 |
| No Score Yet | Il fiume del grande caimano (The Big Alligator River) (The Great Alligator) | Producer | — | 1979 |
| No Score Yet | L'Isola degli Uomini Pesce | Producer | — | 1979 |
TV
| Credit | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No Score Yet |
Jimmy Kimmel Live 2003 |
Guest |
2018 2016 |
| 25% |
Partners 2014 |
Producer Executive Producer Marcus Jackson |
2014 |
| No Score Yet |
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon 2014 |
Guest |
2014 |
| No Score Yet |
Conan 2010 |
Guest |
2014 2011 |
| No Score Yet |
Lopez Tonight 2009-2011 |
Guest |
2011 |
| No Score Yet |
The Mo'Nique Show 2009-2011 |
Guest |
2011 |
| No Score Yet |
The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2003 |
Guest |
2010 2008 2006 |
| No Score Yet |
The Tonight Show With Jay Leno 1992-2014 |
Guest |
2003 2002 2001 |
| No Score Yet |
Martin 1992-1997 |
Momma/Martin Payne Martin/Roscoe Martin Payne/Otis Martin/Dr. Drillgood Martin Martin Payne Martin Payne/Sheneneh Jenkins |
1997 1996 1995 1994 1993 1992 |
| No Score Yet |
Saturday Night Live 1975 |
Host Guest |
1994 |
QUOTES FROM Martin Lawrence CHARACTERS
Det. Marcus Burnett says: My ass still hurts from what you did to it.
Ryan says: Well she may be in 12th grade, but that ass is in grad school.
Hank Rafferty says: Hey, do you actually believe the crap that comes out of your mouth?
Earl Montgomery says: Well, I'm never really sure till i'm finished talkin'.
Earl Montgomery says: Time to conceal the weapon.
Det. Marcus Burnett says: Did you see that?!?
Det. Marcus Burnett says: Did you see that?
Det. Mike Lowrey says: They throwing cars at us! How am I not seeing that?!?
Det. Mike Lowrey says: They throwing cars at us! How am I not seeing that?
Malcolm Turner/Big Momma says: Nobody called it the nutcracker
Malcolm Turner/Big Momma says: Now I know why they call it the Nutcracker.
Det. Marcus Burnett says: This is a nice fish. Big fuckin eyes, but a nice fuckin fish.
Malcolm / Big Momma says: When she put clothes in the trash.
Malcolm / Big Momma says: When she gave tequila to dog name pancho.
Bobby Davis says: They say you can get water in cactuses. Where in a desert and they don't get no damnable cactuses.
Dudley Frank says: I think when its plural its pronounced cacti.
Bobby Davis says: Im killing him.
Boog says: Uh... ELLIOT!
Boog says: Get it off! Like a band-aid! Please!
Boog says: Get it off, like a band-aid please!
Elliot says: Okay this might hurt a little, and you might want to cover your ears
Boog says: Cover my what- OW!!
Boog says: Cover my what- OW!
Elliot says: Okay scamp off back to the woods little buddy. Oh porcupines.
Elliot says: These big wood stick things are called trees.
Elliot says: These big rocks are called mountains and little rocks are their babies.
Boog says: Uh... ELLIOT!
Elliot says: Boogster, ugh. How many times do I have to tell you. "I'm the incredible Mr. E."
Elliot says: Boogster, ugh. How many times do I have to tell you. 'I'm the incredible Mr. E.'
Boog says: Eliot... please. Whoa!
Elliot says: Look, if you don't use the code names who would I know you would be the one talking to me.
Giselle says: Sweet!
McSquizzy says: Freedom!!
McSquizzy says: Freedom!
Boog says: Ha ha ha, huh? What?
Shaw says: Hello, Goldilocks! Ha ha ha!
Elliot says: Yeah, bulls eye!
Elliot says: Quick, we need more ammo.
Boog says: Elliot, catch!
Elliot says: Got it!
Boog says: Fire!
Elliot says: Boog, It's working!
Boog says: Ha ha ha ha, yeah! Look at them run!
McSquizzy says: Send out, Mr. Happy!
Boog says: Who?
Park Ranger Beth says: Gordy, I'm taking home!
McSquizzy says: Oh...Mr. Happy didn't go off.
Boog says: Whoa whoa, we were just supposed to run them into town!
Elliot says: That's right, keep running.
Boog says: Behold, the mighty grizzly!
Boog says: You know Elliot, This place ain't so bad.
Elliot says: Wait, hold that thought.
Elliot says: Woo-Hoo!
Boog says: Dinkleman!
Boog says: Ouch!
Boog says: Keep your tree. I'll find another one.
Boog says: I'M GONNA KILL YOU! [Tackles Elliot behind the curtains and starts hurting him]
Boog says: You chipped a... you chipped a... [Finally loses it] I'm gonna kill you!
Elliot says: I chipped a hoof !
Elliot says: I chipped a hoof!
Boog says: you chipped..... you chipped a, IM GUNNA KILL YOU !!!!
Boog says: You chipped... you chipped a... I'M GUNNA KILL YOU!
Boog says: I never hold a grudge. I just let it go.
Malcolm Turner/Big Momma says: You'd better change your voice before you start scaring the girls.
Trent/Charmaine says: Oh how about this? Swing low...Swing AAAAAAAAAHHHHH! [screeching]
Malcolm Turner/Big Momma says: Big Momma take orders from nobody...Nobody!
Tyler says: What does he think, I'm gonna stink it all up and bring it back?
Det. Marcus Burnett says: This is some sick shit!
Det. Mike Lowrey says: Yup! It's about to get sicker!
Boog says: I got ten claws and I ain't afraid of you.
Boog says: I do what I want, when I want, and I come and go as I please.
Boog says: Outside?
Boog says: No problem!
Boog says: You got it all twisted.
Boog says: Until then, I ain't goin' down without a fight!
Boog says: We ain't doin' no show.
Boog says: [Exasperated sigh]
Earl Montgomery says: Your partner got killed. You lost your job. You went to jail. Your girlfriend walked. You got a job as a security guard at a hundred and eighty-two dollars a week. You know what you are, Hank? You're a black man.
Malcolm Turner says: You better get that nasty-ass tongue back in your mouth before I rip it out!
Ben says: Yes, ma'am! My mouth is closed! But these hands is open for business.
Malcolm Turner says: Trent's so smart. Trent's so cute. Trent knows Karate.
Trent says: I know a little bit.
Malcolm Turner says: I done seen a lot of scary shit in my day. But damn, that was a lot of ass!
Boog says: Elliot, let the nice people enjoy the show.
Boog says: All right, he's gone. Now get out.
Gordy says: Beth, you're not his mother.
Park Ranger Beth says: I'm not mothering him!
Boog says: [Taps on the window and smiles while waving at Beth]
Park Ranger Beth says: Excuse me. [Yelling] Go to bed, Boog!
Park Ranger Beth says: Excuse me. [yelling] Go to bed, Boog!
Boog says: [Gets startled and throws up on the window]
Boog says: [gets startled and throws up on the window]
Boog says: I can't snap.
Boog says: [Upon spotting one of the big trees in the Timberline National Forest] Hmm. Alright. [Cracks his knuckles] I can do this! Ha ha ha ha. No problem.
Boog says: [upon spotting one of the big trees in the Timberline National Forest] Hmm. Alright. [cracks his knuckles] I can do this! Ha ha ha ha. No problem.
Malcolm / Big Momma says: And keep a lookout! You never know when Big Momma might be back!
Det. Marcus Burnett says: Shit just got real.
Marcus Burnett says: Look at all this this is shit! Liquid shit!
Boog says: All right. I can do this!
Boog says: [Seeing a flower right in front of him in the forest] Pretty.
Boog says: Get out of here!
Elliot says: Hey, I took you out of the garage. You should thank me.
Boog says: Thank you?!
Elliot says: You're welcome.
Boog says: [To McSquizzy] We're gonna need your nuts.
Elliot says: And your acorns too!
Elliot says: I get it. You're like a pet.
Boog says: I'm nobody's pet.
Elliot says: [Holds up Boog's bowl] Right.
Boog says: [Holding Elliot over a cliff] Take a good look around, Elliot. What's missing?
Elliot says: Wait. Don't tell me. I know this one...
Boog says: TIMBERLINE IS MISSING!
Elliot says: Oh, I was just going to say that.
Boog says: [Realises he is in the Timberline forest] Where's home? It's gone! Somebody stole it!
Boog says: Give it up for Boog!
Elliot says: Ian's right. I'm a loser.
Boog says: No, you're not a loser.
Elliot says: Yes I am!
Boog says: No you're not!
Elliot says: Yes!
Boog says: No!
Elliot says: Trust me! You know the day I met you Ian kicked me out of the herd, I lost my antler, I got run over, and tied to the hood of a truck, what do you call that?
Boog says: Uhh... a loser. But check this out. Behold, the Mighty Grizzly! I look like a bear, I talk like a bear, but I can't fish, I can't climb a tree, I can't even go in the woods.
Elliot says: That's nothing! Half doe, half buck! I'm a duck!
Jamal Walker says: Punks jump up to get beat down.
Miles Logan says: Its like leaving candy around me, its not gonna be alright I'm gonna (chomping teeth) chomp it up!
Miles Logan says: Its like leaving candy around me, its not gonna be alright I'm gonna [chomping teeth] chomp it up!
Boog says: [After hitting Shaw with a golf club] Ha ha ha! Oh yeah! Don't mess with the Boogster.
Boog says: [after hitting Shaw with a golf club] Ha ha ha! Oh yeah! Don't mess with the Boogster.
Boog says: Naw, naw, cornflake. You got it all twisted. This here is my home.
Elliot says: Sweet!
Boog says: Now haul your butt back out that window. [Points]
Boog says: Now haul your butt back out that window. [points]
Gordy says: Freeze.
Boog says: [Drunk on sugar] Behold... the Mighty... Grizzly. Good night. [Passes out]
Boog says: [drunk on sugar] Behold... the Mighty... Grizzly. Good night. [passes out]
Boog says: I do what I want, when I want, and I come and go as I please!
Elliot says: Well, then let's go!
Boog says: Uh... outside?
Boog says: I'm warnin' you. I got 10 claws and I ain't afraid of you.
Det. Marcus Burnett says: That's that bullshit.
Boog says: [To Elliot] Now haul your butt back out that window.
Elliot says: What's a Shaw?
Boog says: Only the nastiest hunter in town.
Elliot says: Guys, it's not his fault.
Boog says: Oh, you're right, Elliot. It's your fault.
Elliot says: My fault?
Boog says: Yeah. If it weren't for you, I'd be home right now. None of this would've ever happened. You said you knew the way back, but you lied.
Elliot says: I-- no. ...Okay. Okay, maybe-- I thought if you hung out with me, then maybe you would like me.
Boog says: Oh, man! I-- I trusted you, Elliot.
Elliot says: I'm sorry, Boog. I-- we're still partners, right?
Boog says: You know, Elliot, I'm better off alone.
Boog says: Stupid nature.
Elliot says: Want a Fishy Cracker?
Boog says: Uh, no. Uh, I'll eat when I get home.
Boog says: [Before passing out when tranquilized by Beth] Buttermilk biscuits...
Boog says: [Choking Elliot and hitting his head on the ground, who keeps saying "ow"] You're-ruining-my-show!
Boog says: [Choking Elliot and hitting his head on the ground, who keeps saying 'ow'] You're-ruining-my-show!
Boog says: Out of the coat.
Elliot says: No.
Boog says: Take it off.
Elliot says: No!
Boog says: Take off the coat.
Elliot says: No means no!
Boog says: It's a whole Woo Hoo village.
Boog says: [Singing his own version of "The Teddy Bears' Picnic"] If you go out in the woods today, there's gonna-- [hiccups] Be some fries [laughs]
Boog says: [Singing his own version of 'The Teddy Bears' Picnic'] If you go out in the woods today, there's gonna-- [hiccups] Be some fries [laughs]
Boog says: [Waiting for Beth in the jeep] Where is that girl?
McSquizzy says: Try it again, I'll be kickin' your furry brown bahookie! [slaps his butt at Boog]
Boog says: What?! But this is a different tree!
McSquizzy says: They're ALL my trees!
Boog says: The Woo Hoo bar. She's my lady. Smooth and creamy. So bad I shouldn't. Yet I will.
Boog says: [After waking up face-to-face with a flower in the Timberline National Forest] Ooh, pretty.
Boog says: We've been walkin' around in circles?
Elliot says: Cir-cle. One time around.
Elliot says: Trust me, you know the day I met you Ian kicked me out of the herd, I lost my antler, I got run over, and tied to the hood of a truck, what do you call that?
Boog says: Ahh... a loser! But check this out. Behold, the Mighty Grizzly! I look like a bear, I talk like a bear, but I can't fish, I can't climb a tree, I can't even go in the woods!
Elliot says: That's nothin'! Half doe, half buck! I'm a duck!
Boog says: I ride a unicycle for crackers.
Elliot says: I have a glass eye.
Boog says: I can't snap.
Elliot says: I thought log was a color.
Boog says: I can't see my feet!
Elliot says: I killed a man! [he and Boog both laugh]
Boog says: [sees Dinkleman in his garage] Hey! What are you lookin' at? I told you not to wait up!
Boog says: When I'm a bear rug, they can walk all over me. Until then, I ain't goin' down without a fight!
Boog says: [to McSquizzy and the Furry Tail Clan] That's it! You're askin' for a whoopin'!
Boog says: This is my home.
Boog says: [smelling Elliot, who is strapped to Shaw's truck and appears dead] Whew! That's nasty!
Boog says: [during the fight with the hunters] Gas mask.
Reilly says: Got it.
Boog says: All right. Time to run these guys back to town.
Boog says: [Elliot has hit Shaw with a pillow] A pillow?! Come on!
Boog says: Boog is sorry.
Boog says: [losing Dinkleman in the water] DINKLEMAN!
Boog says: [to Elliot] Shut the-- shut the-- I'm gonna kill you!
Boog says: [to Elliot] Shut the - shut the. I'm gonna kill you!
Boog says: [sees a mad Beth in Gordy's police car] Uh-oh! Back up quick, before she sees me!
Park Ranger Beth says: You're in big trouble, mister!
Boog says: Shush!
Boog says: Yeah. And the giraffes taste almost exactly like the elephants. That's messed up.
Boog says: Oh, no. I never hold a grudge. I just let it go.
Boog says: [drunk on chocolate] Behold... the Mighty... Grizzly. Good night. [faints]
Boog says: [drunk on chocolate] Behold... the mighty... Grizzly. Good night. [faints]
Boog says: Alright! Show me your "Grr" face!
Boog says: Alright! Show me your 'Grr' face!
Boog says: No denyin'. That girl's got growl. But can she get down like this?
Boog says: [during a rabbit fight] Oh yeah? Well, eat rabbit!