Chris Tucker is performing two shows in Abu Dhabi.
The Rush Hour actor is coming to du Forum on February 28 and March 1 in stand-up comic mode.
With Tucker's success on the big screen, especially with the Rush Hour action franchise alongside Jackie Chan, some audiences may have forgotten or be unaware of Tucker's earlier career as a promising stand-up comic.
His trademark squeaky voice and celebrity impersonations made him a regular performer at the Def Comedy Jam television series in the early 1990s.
Tucker landed his first break appearing alongside Ice Cube in the 1995 urban comedy Friday before winning more plaudits in 1997 with a zany appearance in Luc Besson's 1997 sci-fi thriller The Fifth Element and Quentin Tarantino's Blaxploitation homage Jackie Brown.
But the Rush Hour franchise cemented Tucker's role as a major Hollywood player.
The buddy cop films followed the destructive comic adventures of Detectives Carter (Tucker) and Lee (Chan) as they attempted to solve crimes involving everyone from the Chinese Mafia to Los Angeles's gangs.
With nearly a billion dollars in revenue, the franchise remains one of the most successful of all time and at one stage made Tucker the highest paid actor in Hollywood after he pocketed US$25 million (Dh92) for the third instalment in 2007.
After Rush Hour 3, Tucker retreated from the spotlight to re-emerge in 2011 with a comeback stand-up comedy tour. He also starred alongside Robert De Niro in this year's Oscar nominated comedy Silver Linings Playbook.
In a statement released by the promoters Flash, Tucker described the comic legends Richard Pryor and Eddie Murphy as his biggest influences.
"Richard Pryor's facial expressions - I had to take that," he said, also noting Murphy's "fast-talking" Bill Cosby impression.
Tucker's upcoming performance at du Forum will come after the success of Russell Peters's sold-out two-night stand in March last year.
Tickets start at Dh195 and are available today from www.thinkflash.ae
