Martin Lawrence has explained why he turned down Chris Tucker’s role in the Rush Hour franchise.

During an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Tuesday, the 59-year-old actor and his Bad Boys co-star Will Smith played a game called True Confessions, where they had to read out statements and the others had to decide if it was true or false.

Lawrence read out the statement, “Jackie Chan asked me to star in Rush Hour with him but I turned it down.”

As he fielded questions from Smith and Fallon, the comedian revealed that he met the famed martial arts star when he made a cameo on his TV show Martin in 1996.

“(Jackie) did my show, so we talked somewhere in between there,” he explained. “And then we had a dinner at Mr Chow’s.”

When Fallon asked why he rejected the role of fast-talking detective James Carter, he simply replied, “Wasn’t enough money.”

After confirming that the statement was true, Lawrence insisted he was thrilled for Tucker, who he knew.

“I was happy for Chris,” he stated. “That was what it was supposed to be – Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. And they brought (out) a beautiful franchise with Rush Hour.”

Tucker and Chan starred in the first Rush Hour in 1998 and went on to reprise their roles for two more instalments in 2001 and 2007.

Lawrence and Smith have starred in their own buddy cop action comedy franchise, Bad Boys, since 1995. The fourth instalment, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, is released in cinemas this week.

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