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Cape Town - Channel24 spoke to Rush Hour's Detective James Carter, Chris Tucker, ahead of his South African stand-up comedy tour later this year.
The award-winning actor and comedian will be performing in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town in November. (Find out more about ticketing information here)
Tucker, who has been to South Africa several times, calls the country his "second home."
He excitingly recalls visiting the country on promotional movie tours, Thabo Mbeki's inauguration and the opening on Oprah Winfrey's school.
"South Africa will always remain one of my favourite places," he says, adding that he hopes to squeeze in a safari and a visit to Nelson Mandela's home when he returns in November.
The comedian first rose to fame as the loud-mouth sidekick in the 1995 comedy cult-classic Friday, before landing his breakout role in the cop franchise Rush Hour, alongside Jackie Chan.
When asked if he ever gets tired of people asking him about Smokey on Friday, he says: "No. I don't. I'm glad people still love it. I really had no idea that it would blow up the way it did. It took on a life of its own. I'm so glad that people still watch it."
The funnyman kept a low profile between gigs, before making his comeback to comedy in 2011. Speaking about his re-entry into the comedy scene the 46-year-old says: "I still had so much to talk about. A lot of things happened in my life before I was known, and before the movies. Stories from the childhood."
"All those stories I still have to tell, and how my life is now. People who I've met in my life, Michael Jackson, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton. So many others," he adds.
About the difference between stand-up and acting he says: "What I love about stand-up is being able to tell my personal stories. You can't do that with movies, because you're playing a character. Which I love doing. Stand-up and acting goes hand-in-hand. I love both equally.
Chris, who will be performing in the UK and Colorado before landing on SA shores, says he never travels without his toothbrush, toothpaste and bible.
And when spending time away from home for long periods of time, he misses his mother, family and of course the food from his hometown, Atlanta, Georgia.
"Home is always where the heart is. I miss the yams, cornbread, collard greens. But I'm on a diet now, so I don't eat what I used to," he laughs.
Even though he thinks he is the funniest person he knows, he admires Dave Chapelle and South Africa's very own, Trevor Noah.
"He is very smart and delivers clever comedy," he says when taking about The Daily Show host.
About his upcoming tour to SA he says that audiences can look forward to "stories they haven't heard before," which includes: "Personal stories about relationships I've cultivated over the years. A lot of stuff about my life. Stuff happening in the world, and my point of view on it."
As a special message to his fans in Mzansi, he ends off by saying: "I can't wait to get there. I have so much love for South Africa. It will be my first time performing there and I'm looking forward it."
