On a sultry day last May, Chris Rock surveyed the seaside hotels and mountain villas at the Cannes Film Festival.
"I grew up just a few blocks from here," he said, then burst into laughter. The 35-year-old comedian, who stars in the reincarnation comedy "Down to Earth," grew up far from the opulence of the French Riviera, in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant section. Drugs and violence were a part of life there, but Rock steered clear for the most part. His mom, Rose, was a teacher. His dad, a stern type who drove a New York Daily News delivery truck, was often the target of his emerging humor. Rock claimed Bed-Stuy was no tougher than Beverly Hills, where bullies also pick on the runts.
But geography did play a part in shaping his ambition. "The only good thing about growing up in a bad neighborhood is that there are no expectations," he said. "You can't let anybody down by pursuing your dream."
Rock reflected on his life during interviews in Cannes and New York. In conversation, he is, well, normal. He keeps his "on" persona on the stage. Rock has a slow-building film career, Emmy-validated success on four years of HBO's "Chris Rock Show" and a string of hit comedy albums that includes the 1997 Grammy-winning "Roll With the New." He took a fruitful stab at publishing with a 1997 book of musings called "Rock This!" and last year with a National Lampoon-style magazine called the Illtop Journal.
His movie career is gaining the most attention at the moment. Rock co-wrote and produced "Down to Earth," playing a comedian who bombs at the Apollo Theater and then gets hit by a bus. A couple of angels allow him to return to life in the body of a 60-year-old white tycoon. (It's an oft-told story, showing up in Warren Beatty's "Heaven Can Wait," the play and movie "Here Comes Mr. Jordan," "Down to Earth" with Rita Hayworth and "Xanadu" with Olivia Newton-John.)
Rock made sure to complete his "Down to Earth" screenplay before shopping it. "Unless you need the money, don't go to the studio," he said. "If you take somebody's money, you have to listen to their notes. I didn't want to listen to anybody's notes."
Film was not on Rock's mind when he first made people laugh. He made his debut in front of an audience when he sneaked into a New York comedy club at age 17 and seized the stage.
Fresh off "Beverly Hills Cop," Eddie Murphy attended a gig and opened the door for Rock in show business. Rock gladly entered. The comparisons between Murphy and Rock are inevitable, and Rock freely points to Murphy and Richard Pryor as inspirations. Rock invites both black and white in on the joke, adding honey to his venom.
Whether the buddy spy movie "Black Sheep" he has signed to do with "Hannibal's" Anthony Hopkins follows that trend remains to be seen. After working with Mel Gibson in 1998's "Lethal Weapon IV," Rock is not about to be intimidated by working with Hopkins. Besides, Rock played to a much tougher audience long ago.
"It all starts with dad, making fun of me," Rock said. "His seriousness trickled down." As a child, Rock would drop off the stacks of newspapers while his father, Julius, drove the truck. Julius Rock died of a bleeding ulcer at age 55 in 1989, and Rock reportedly overindulged in the good life to ease the pain.
The memory is easier to take now. The now-married and settled Rock is as serious as ever about his career. Dad would be proud. "He'd be happy that I'm working," Rock said. "He'd be asking if I had benefits."
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