Ben Stiller, Chris Rock & Jada Pinkett Smith
The Madagascar 2 stars on parenthood and talking zebras.
by Meghan Pleticha
October 31, 2008
CHRIS ROCK
Was it easy for you to slip back into the role of Marty?
Well, you know, took a while for me to dust off that zebra suit. Yeah, it's, like, you're always in Marty. I have kids, and I go to a lot of birthday parties and junk. So everybody always wants a Marty impression. So I stayed in shape doing that the last few years.
You voiced all of the zebras in the movie — is that weird, keeping track of which zebra you were doing?
For some of them, I definitely had to change voices. But some it was the mics: okay, this one's mic-ed this way, this one's mic-ed that way, this one has an old mic, this one has a little reverb.
But you didn't feel like you needed to create a different character back story for each of them?
A little bit. But I think they got lost in the cut.
"When I was in Bee Movie, my daughter Zaro was upset that I wasn't a bee. 'How come you were a mosquito?'"
How did you get in touch with the carelessness of Marty when you began to work on the character?
Care — I'm a comedian. I'm pretty careless all the time anyway. I don't know. You're playing a zebra in a booth. It's no time to be serious.
What makes your kids laugh?
Me. [Laughs] My kids, they watch that Hannah Montana. That Hannah Montana's big. Corey in the House is big.
Did they like the first Madagascar ?
Oh, they loved the first movie. Kids love that movie.
Did they have any special requests for this movie?
No, no. They're happy. It's weird. When I was in Bee Movie, my daughter Zaro was upset that I wasn't a bee. "How come you were a mosquito? How come you weren't a bee? It's the Bee Movie." Sorry, kid.
What's been your favorite moment in the last few months where you've been really proud to just be a dad?
Every day I'm proud to be a dad. Every morning. [My daughter is] off from camp this week. And when I get back, we're gonna go to the car wash. And, you know, whatever. That's the thing when you have kids. There's no such thing as quality time when you're a parent. "We're gonna spend quality time." Those are bad parents. It's just time. It's all good. There's no, "Ooh, his graduation's better than going to the mall." It's all kind of equal. Changing a diaper and walking and her winning a contest or whatever — it's all good. There's no bad parts about it.
Do you think your comedy's changed since you've had kids?
A little bit. A little bit. Not, like mellowed out or anything. Just — I'm just older and I just have a little bit more to talk about.
Are your kids intrigued by what you do? Like, do they wanna do some acting?
I don't think so. I mean, they're intrigued by my voice in a movie. Sometimes I take them on tour with me and let them see me walk onstage. They can't really see the act. They see me go out. Wow. It's crazy. It's crazy. Look at all those people. You know, they do sound check and whatnot. But there'll be no show business with my family.
What do you do to balance work and family?
I guess my wife handles more of the balance. I gotta work. And you're not just working to take care of them. You're working to take care of them in the event something happens to you. As a dad, not only are you responsible for your wife and kids, if you die and they have to move four years later, you're a bad father. You're really responsible for these people. So, yeah, there's no balance for me. I work, work, work. When I'm off work, I spend time with my family.
There are a lot of new characters in this movie. Which one is your favorite?
The Bernie Mac character, sadly. When I saw it, it was like, "Aw, he's perfect. He's perfect," because he's a pontificator anyway. He was just that guy. He's kind of like Paulie in Goodfellas. Gotta give Paulie his cut.
Is there a gift that he gave you that you will carry with you through your life?
He just really, really, really, really made me laugh. I just always respect Bernie 'cause he stuck to his gun. He didn't change anything to become famous. He just became famous as Bernie Mac, as this guy who wears lavender suits and does his dirty jokes and he never, ever, ever turned his back on Bernie Mac to get famous.
Do you feel like that's hard to do?
It depends on who you are. I would say only bad people have to try to be good. Good people just are. Like, you find it hard to not steal? No. If I was a thief, it would be really hard.
What do you think about the love story between Gloria, a hippo, and a Melmen, a giraffe?
Let's hope it works out. You get old enough — all love's good. You know, you're young — you dissect love. I don't know if that's gonna work. You get a little older. You're like, "Whatever works." You're a giraffe, you're a hippo. Fine. Fine.
Have you been to the Central Park Zoo with your kids?
Thousand times. And I gotta get a membership, you know? I still don't have a membership. So I end up waiting on this long line. And I'm, like, "Hey, I'm Marty." I'm Marty, I should be getting right in here.
©2008 Meghan Pleticha and Nerve Media
About the Author
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Meghan Pleticha recently graduated with a degree in English and a minor in LGBT studies (like women’s studies, but less angry and more fabulous). Having grown up in Northern California and gone to school in L.A., she’s just popped over to New York to see what all the fuss is about. She is a contributor to Nerve.com and Babble.com.
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