Chris Rock Takes On A New Stage: 'The Mother F**ker With the Hat'

If "Pulp Fiction" ever makes it’s way to Broadway, they may have Chris Rock to thank.

Rock is making his Broadway debut in "The Motherf**ker With the Hat," a title which sounds like something straight out of Jules Winfield’s (Samuel L. Jackson’s) AK47-loving, gangster-monologues.

The play, which is anticipated to be urban-gritty, premieres on April 11. The five-person ensemble deals with addiction, friendship and betrayal in New York City. It’s a far cry from the stand-up comedy career Rock began 20 years ago.

He’s disclosed to USA Today that he took the role because he wanted to stay close to his wife and daughters in New Jersey, instead of traveling on a tour.

Based on his recent NPR interview, another reason might have been that it’s a challenge that makes Rock nervous – and for him, that’s good.

"Stand-up still makes me nervous, and the play makes me nervous," he told NPR.

"The nicest compliment I ever got was from Conan O'Brien; I did the show and it went well, and he said, 'You know what I like about you? You're still smart enough to be scared.' He said a lot of guys come — big-name comics — and they're overly confident, and they bomb. He said, 'I've got to dig them out of the hole they put themselves in.' "

As Ari Shapiro reports, “Rock's philosophy: ‘Anything you can suck at should make you nervous. One should always be cognizant of how bad it could go.’”

Rock also told Shapiro that he didn’t have to do very much character research on the subject of addiction.

"I'm a comedian," Rock said. "I don't know if studies have been done, but I would say 40 percent of comedians are in some form of recovery… I mean, we work in bars, you know what I mean? They give us free drinks at a young age, and we kinda get hooked. I know a ton of guys in AA and NA — comedians are very addictive people."