Kevin Hart couldn't go gay for Tropic Thunder role

Comedian Kevin Hart turned down the chance to star opposite Ben Stiller and Robert Downey, Jr. in Tropic Thunder, because he couldn't bring himself to portray a gay man in a comedy.

The funnyman reveals his blockbuster film career stalled in 2008 after he turned down the opportunity to join the cast of a star-studded movie, but he insists he still won't go gay for a movie role.

He tells New York radio station Power 105.1's The Breakfast Club, "I can't... Not because I have any ill will or disrespect. It's because I don't think I'm really going to dive into that role 100 per cent because of insecurities about myself trying to play that part.

"The dude (Tropic Thunder character Alpa Chino) was doing a lot of stuff in the draft that I read. It was real flagrant... I was like, 'I can't do this'."

The role ultimately went to Brandon T. Jackson.