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In his new TIME interview, the comedian told the outlet exactly where he believes his career is headed:
“You’re looking at the modern-day Eddie Murphy or the modern-day Kevin Hart.”
The statement came as TIME profiled Druski for its 2026 TIME100 Next issue and examined his push from social media comedy into a much larger entertainment career. According to TIME, he now has more than 30 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube while expanding into movies, television, live shows, and major brand partnerships.
The Eddie Murphy comparison starts to make sense when looking at how Druski is trying to turn character-based comedy into a broader acting career. Murphy became a breakout performer on “Saturday Night Live“ before moving quickly into movies. According to Paramount Pictures, Murphy made his major film breakthrough opposite Nick Nolte in 48 Hrs. in 1982, then starred as Axel Foley in “Beverly Hills Cop” in 1984. Paramount also credits Murphy as a producer on “Beverly Hills Cop,” showing that his role eventually extended beyond simply appearing in front of the camera.
Druski is moving through a newer version of that transition. Rather than beginning on a network sketch show, his characters were developed directly through social platforms. According to TIME, those sketches helped establish personas ranging from an exaggerated frat guy to a money-obsessed megachurch pastor. Druski is now appearing in “The Catch” alongside Chris Pine and Emma Stone, which the magazine described as his biggest movie role to date. That shift from short-form character comedy toward larger film roles is one of the clearest Murphy parallels in the interview, even if the platforms that launched them are completely different.
Murphy also proved early that a comedian did not have to remain in a single format. His 1987 stand-up film “Eddie Murphy Raw” was released as a theatrical concert film, while his movie career was already producing projects such as “Beverly Hills Cop.” Druski’s live work has similarly expanded beyond posting sketches online, although his format is different from Murphy’s traditional stand-up. A 2023 announcement from Cincinnati’s Taft Theatre described Druski’s first headlining Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda Tour as a 30-city production mixing traditional comedy with live versions of his Coulda Been Records auditions.
The Kevin Hart comparison may be even more direct when it comes to turning comedy into expandable intellectual property.
Hart hosted the BET Awards in 2011 and performed a reality television parody featuring Nelly, Bobby Brown, Nick Cannon, and Jermaine Dupri. BET later developed that sketch into the scripted comedy “Real Husbands of Hollywood.” Fifteen years later, Druski hosted the 2026 BET Awards, where he brought his fictional pastor character into the show. The same megachurch character is now becoming “Collect & Praise,” a series that was initially intended for Druski’s YouTube channel before Netflix picked it up.
That is a particularly striking parallel because both comedians used a character or sketch as something bigger than a one-night joke. Hart’s BET material became a television property. Druski’s social media pastor moved onto the BET Awards stage and is now being expanded into a television series. According to TIME, Druski and his team routinely examine whether characters created for individual sketches can support bigger projects. That approach helps explain why the Murphy and Hart references in the TIME piece were about more than celebrity status. They point toward a career built around repeatedly expanding the format.
Hart also provides a blueprint for the business side. According to Hartbeat, Hart now serves as chairman and CEO of the entertainment company, which operates across film, television, audio, streaming, live experiences, and branded content. Netflix previously described HartBeat Productions as a multi-platform production company when announcing a film partnership with Hart in 2021. That agreement included movies starring and produced by Hart as well as a first look arrangement for his production company.
Druski appears increasingly interested in that type of control. TIME reports that he reinvests much of his earnings into producing bigger content and said his philosophy in the changing comedy business is that “you got to just do it yourself.” His Coulda Been concept has already traveled across several formats. It began as social media auditions, became Coulda Been House, moved into live touring, and continued with additional digital projects.
His live business has grown with him. According to Chase Center, the original Coulda Fest began as a 2024 event at State Farm Arena in Atlanta before expanding into a tour in 2025 that combined live comedy sketches with music performances. United Center described that run as Druski’s first international comedy tour. The format reflects another important piece of his strategy: instead of separating comedy, music culture, social media personalities, and live entertainment, Druski has increasingly put them inside the same product.
There are also important differences between the three careers. Murphy came through “Saturday Night Live” and entered Hollywood’s studio system at a remarkably young age. Hart built his foundation through stand-up before expanding into movies, touring, digital media, and production. Druski is from a generation where an entertainer can build the audience first and approach traditional television and film after proving that audience exists. TIME captures that difference when Druski argues that comedians can no longer wait for somebody to discover them.
That makes his “modern-day” comparison less about copying either man’s exact career and more about attempting the same kind of range. The Druski TIME interview finds him at a point where viral sketches are becoming television properties, social media concepts are becoming arena shows, and internet fame is opening doors to larger movie roles. Murphy and Hart reached comedy superstardom through different eras and different routes. Druski is making it clear that he intends to build his own version with the platforms available to him now.
