Gary Thompson | He's got a secret

CHRIS TUCKER WAS a red-hot star with a $20 million price tag when he came off the $200 million "Rush Hour 2," so what he did next was a surprise.

He took five years off.

A guy in a position to write his own ticket instead bought one  -  a flight to Africa, based on a new desire to see the world, to discover first-hand what was going on out there.

"I just found that I had this new passion, another passion," said Tucker, in town to promote "Rush Hour 3," his first film since 2001. "I wanted to learn more, to find out more, just experience life. It wasn't all about movies. And it turned out to be the best choice I ever made in my life."

His travels in turn led to increased interest in underprivileged regions of Africa, where he's toured often. Tucker has become a spokesman for humanitarian issues there, with a particular focus on clean-water problems.

"I guess what I learned is the truth behind the old cliché, that we don't realize how lucky we are in this country  -  we don't realize how much we take for granted, like clean drinking water," Tucker said. He's become an advocate for U.N. and non-GMO efforts to build wells in water-starved areas.

"It hits home when you visit places where young girls are spending the whole day carrying clean water on their backs for five miles, just so their family can survive," Tucker said.

He's become part of an unofficial movement in Hollywood, formed by stars (Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt) who seem dissatisfied or disillusioned with the traditional rewards of stardom. They are seeking to use their celebrity to raise consciousness about pressing global issues.

"I guess most people in my position, coming off a hit like 'Rush Hour 2,' would have immediately signed a bunch of deals," Tucker said. "The traditional idea has been to strike while the iron is hot. I just felt like for me, there were other things I wanted to do. All my life I've reached points where I had to make important choices. And this was one of them. I just reached the point in my life where I didn't want to have a shallow life."

Tucker said even successful actors take jobs out of fear.

"You have to learn that you don't always need to keep working for the sake of working," he said. "I found out I wasn't afraid to say no."

Or make tough choices.

Tucker made the choice to leave home in the rural South for the competitive world of the Los Angeles comedy circuit. After hitting it big there, he made another choice to leave sure-thing gigs in stand-up for a shot at movies.

After becoming a fixture in mini-hits like "Money Talks" and "Friday," he made a bold choice to stretch himself by playing Ruby Rhod in Luc Besson's wild sci-fi romp "The Fifth Element."

"That one came through my agent," he said. "He said you have a chance to do a movie with this great French director, and it's a big $70 million science fiction movie, which was totally different for me. The only thing, he said, is that you can't see the clothes."

Ruby Rhod had a collection of stuff that would have made Prince blush. In fact, Besson had already tried to talk Prince into accepting the role.

"It's funny, but after the movie came out, I had a chance to talk to Prince about it," Tucker said. "And he said the clothes were even too weird for him."

The movie was more of a cult hit than a commercial hit, but it did raise Tucker's profile with international audiences, and that led to "Rush Hour," the movie that paired him with Jackie Chan, and made him a $20-million-man.
Still, a sequel wasn't high on his list of priorities.

"I never really wanted to do a sequel. But the studio really wanted it, and they kept promising to deliver scripts that were as good as the original, and when I felt they got it right, I agreed to do it. That's basically how 'Rush Hour 3' happened."
His deal with New Line (he was paid a reported $25 million) also included room for two more pictures. Tucker said he'd like to build a concert film around his stand-up act, and to revive his plans to star in a comedy about the first black president.

Will it be finished before the country actually elects one?

"I've met Barack Obama, and I think he's a great person who would do great things for our country," Tucker said. "These are difficult times and he has some fresh ideas. And I think people have changed. I think they'd elect a guy like Barack, who's got ideas that can turn this country around."