Pete Davidson has made a name for himself as a pretty goofy guy. As a longtime (but recently retired) cast member on Saturday Night Live, he was known for his funny raps — including one that actually led to change at Netflix. He also has other silly characters like his version of Aladdin, which sparked Davidson's romantic relationship with Kim Kardashian. But somewhere between taking shots at himself during Comedy Central roasts and joking about getting his cardio from a bouncy house in a SmartWater ad, that self-deprecation has turned into Davidson being typecast as an “idiot,” and he opened up about how he’d rather be seen.
The King of Staten Island star has been candid about his rough childhood, and he’s never shied away from taking the piss out of himself. However, Pete Davidson told Kevin Hart on Hart to Heart (available with a Peacock Premium subscription) that doesn’t mean he hasn’t done legitimate work over the years. Still, a lot of the roles he’s apparently been offered lately have painted him as one particular character. Davidson shared:
Like, it’s cool to be self-deprecating. I love it, it’s like my thing. But now I’m at a place where I’ll do other shows, and you come in and they have stuff written for you, and all the dialogue is like, ‘I’m a big fuckin’ idiot! Hey, let’s smoke a doobie! Aw yeah!’ Every joke is just like, ‘Well, you know me, I’m a big fuckin’ idiot!’
Roasts are one thing, Pete Davidson admitted, because the whole point is to take each other down a notch, but in a professional setting, he wants people to realize that he’s “done, like a lot of shit” and isn’t just “a big fucking dummy,” he said. Davidson’s got quite a few projects in the works, so maybe in future roles we’ll see more of the balance he’s trying to find between confidence and humility, rather than simply comic relief. The comedian said:
I’m trying to find the healthy balance between, ‘Ooh that’s nice, he’s confident and not, like, ew,’ you know, but still has some sort of humbleness. Because I think I’ll always be sort of humble and self-deprecating, but I don’t want people to think I’m a fucking idiot.
I like that even though it seems hard for Pete Davidson to say complimentary things about himself, he’s gained enough confidence to defend his work and know what he’s capable of. While he once thought he’d focus his career only on comedy, he told Kevin Hart he’s enjoying acting more and more, which is reflected in the number of projects he’s taken on post-SNL.
As well as his buddy Machine Gun Kelly’s Good Mourning that came out this year, Pete Davidson is set to co-star in the A24 horror mystery Bodies Bodies Bodies, which hits theaters August 5. He’s also wrapped production on Kaley Cuoco's Meet Cute, an upcoming rom-com. He took time away from his final season on Saturday Night Live when production began on horror/thriller The Home, and he’s signed on to go Down Under for Wizards! later this year, in which Davidson and Franz Rogowitz will star as two potheads who accidentally stumble into thievery.
Fans wouldn’t want to discount Pete Davidson’s reality TV career either, as it appears he’ll be seen more on The Kardashians when it returns to Hulu subscribers on September 22. The comedian made only a vocal cameo on a post-credit scene of the Season 1 finale. As we wait on all these projects, be sure to check out what movies are hitting theaters soon with our 2022 Movie Release Schedule.
