Kevin Hart is back for another action adventure alongside Woody Harrelson in Netflix‘s The Man From Toronto. At the same time, the film also serves as a buddy comedy as Hart and Harrelson’s characters learn that life’s lessons aren’t meant to be mundane.
The pair sat down with Shadow and Act to discuss some of the biggest lessons learned from the film, the significance it has on people from all walks of life, and the inner parts of their characters, Teddy and the man from Toronto.
"The lesson is that eventually challenges get met, and sometimes it takes a moment or it takes a few bumps. It takes a few bruises, it takes a couple of knock downs before a person goes, 'That's enough,'" Hart told Shadow and Act.
His character, Teddy is used to taking a lot of blows and experiencing a lot of moments where life seemingly knocks him down… that’s until he meets Harrelson’s character, an assassin also known as “the man from Toronto.”
“My character is a real loner, you know, [he] doesn’t spend time with other people and has really come to accept and embrace just being alone and so to be thrown into this Teddy world, at first is a shock,” Harrelson explained. “My first instinct is to murder him, you know, since he’s a witness to my face and so forth and to keep my anonymity. During the course of the film, you find that there’s something about Teddy that is so winning and likable. He does petty things and he messes up a lot, but he’s got this extraordinary heart. Eventually, the man from Toronto just can’t help but to be won over by him and ultimately he helps me to open and grow.”
Although the pair, as one would say, come from opposite ends of the train tracks, there is so much that they learn from one another when it comes to navigating this thing called life. Eventually, we are all responsible for what we allow to continue.
“The challenge that The Man From Toronto presents is that you need to stop doing what you do. You make excuses, you are the problem, you’re the cause, yet you point to everybody else,” Hart continued. “And, you know, it takes a hard talking to like that. “Sometimes you need the mirror, and when you get that mirror, when you look in it correctly, you may answer, and Teddy answered.
Overall, Hart explains how films like 'The Man From Toronto' may be full of action, wit, and some pretty killer stunts, but the messaging always encourages viewers to think a little deeper.
“There’s always a message in these movies, there’s always an underlying thing that fans can hold on to and I hope they’ve realized that the journey of the man from Toronto and both Teddy are unique to what so many people go through today,” he expressed. “The hardest person in the world has a problem sometimes showing his or her heart. nd the guy that kind of always backs up or fades away because they’re intimidated, eventually needs to be pushed, so that they can lose that and be a little more confident in those spaces where they weren’t at one point in time.”
The Man From Toronto is now streaming on Netflix.
Watch the full interview below:
