Tracy Morgan finds funny again in 'Fist Fight' after 'traumatic' accident
LOS ANGELES — There's a Tracy Morgan code-red emergency poolside at the W Hotel,
The actor goes from loudly cracking funny, even throwing jokes to a nearby bikini-clad admirer, to suddenly being blinded by the emerging Southern California sun. He needs sunglasses and not just any pair. Morgan needs his prescription Cazal shades, a designer pair with real gold hardware. His assistant thinks they might be in the hotel room, and Morgan looks perturbed. But that expression turns to joy when the $2,000 shades emerge.
"Ah," he proclaims blissfully, sliding them on. "Much better."
Morgan's entertainment future is so bright, he's got to wear blinged-out shades. His movie comedy Fist Fight (in theaters Friday) is the first project he's filmed since a near-fatal accident on June 7, 2014, in which a Walmart truck slammed into his limo bus, putting the 30 Rock star into a coma with a traumatic brain injury.
Not only has Morgan, 48, largely recuperated from the ordeal, which required him to learn to walk again, he's back doing what he loves: making comedy. Morgan stars as a gruff but oblivious coach in the R-rated Fist Fight, about a meek teacher (Charlie Day) challenged to a brawl by the tough colleague (Ice Cube) he got fired.
"Thank God, I didn’t die in the accident and I was there to do this," says Morgan. "But I was hit by a truck. I was out for a year and change."
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Morgan's says he's "95%" mentally recovered, while still mourning his friend and fellow comedian James McNair, who died in the crash: "I miss Jimmy every day." Physically, Morgan has a titanium rod "in my leg for life — otherwise, nothing bothers me." But even after a surprise 2015 Emmy Awards appearance to thank supporters and his Picking Up the Pieces comedy tour, the star feared he might not be funny onscreen.
"When you have a traumatic brain incident like that, there are a lot of components that go into it: the comedy timing, the instincts," says Morgan. "He didn't take that from me."
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His co-star Day noticed that Morgan was understandably tight on Day 1 when Fist Fight began shooting in 2015. "So we kept rolling the camera even after those first scenes ended. And three takes in, it was like riding a bike," Day says. "Tracy was the same old Tracy Morgan. He's hysterical."
For Morgan, the laughter comes with relief and thanks to his many friends. As he talks about their loyalty, a giant tear rolls down Morgan's cheek, which he doesn't wipe away.
He married his longtime fiancée, Megan Wollover, on Aug. 23, 2015, and they have a 3-year-old daughter, Maven Sonae. "I know I married the woman I was supposed to marry. When I was on my back, she was there," says Morgan.
He makes clear that Fist Fight is just the start. In May, Morgan begins shooting a new, as yet untitled TBS comedy series based on his life. He's full of ideas and appreciation.
"I say thank you to God every morning. I open my curtains and the sun is out, even if it's cloudy," says Morgan. "These are tears of joy right now. We just ran a gamut of emotion here, but this is not a tough day. This is joyful day."
