During his role in Def Comedy Jam, Lawrence appeared in his own hit series, Martin, which aired on Fox. The show ran from 1992 to 1997 and was considered a success. He also hosted Saturday Night Live on February 19, 1994, where he made crude remarks on women's genitalia and personal hygiene. The monologue was later completely edited out of reruns and syndicated versions. As a result, Lawrence was banned from the show for life. After Martin ended its run, Lawrence worked on many film projects most of which were in the comedy genre. He often starred in films as the second lead opposite actors including Eddie Murphy, Will Smith, and Tim Robbins. Many of his films were blockbusters at the box office, including Boomerang (1992), Bad Boys (1995), Nothing To Lose (1997), Blue Streak (1999), Life (1999), Big Momma's House (2000) and Bad Boys 2 (2003). He also starred in critical and box office failures including Black Knight (2001) and National Security (2002). His salary increased dramatically to over $10 million per role. He continues to work in film, with his recent films including Big Momma's House 2, which opened #1 at the North American box office and grossed almost $28 million its first weekend, and Wild Hogs (2007), where he played a bored suburbanite looking for adventure on the open road in a biker comedy alongside John Travolta, Tim Allen and William H. Macy.
In 2006, Lawrence appeared on Inside the Actors Studio where he was requested by the studio audience to act out his famous characters he played on his Martin television show. To a great deal of excitement and cheering from the studio audience, Lawrence performed most of his characters again, out of wardrobe and with no lines. The audience became particularly excited when Lawrence acted out his Momma Payne, Sheneneh Jenkins, and Jerome characters. During the interview, when yet another character was named off for him to act out, Lawrence mentioned how he was surprised at how many characters he used to perform on the show. There were a couple more funny characters of Lawrence's that he didn't act out, such as the abrasive security guard, Otis Once his Martin show ended, Lawrence never brought back any of his characters for another TV series or movie.
While filming A Thin Line Between Love and Hate in the mid-1990s, Lawrence had a violent outburst on the set and began taking drugs. He became increasingly erratic and was arrested after he reportedly brandished a pistol and screamed at tourists on Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles. He was also arrested at Burbank Airport for carrying a loaded gun in his suitcase. In March 1997, Lawrence was arrested again after allegedly assaulting a man in a Hollywood nightclub.
During August 1999, Lawrence went into a three-day coma after collapsing from heat exhaustion while jogging in 100-degree heat with several layers of heavy clothing. He recovered in the hospital from near death and running a body temperature of a seemingly impossible 107 °F (41.7 °C), his breathing assisted by a respirator.
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Do the Right Thing | Cee | |
| 1990 | House Party | Bilal | |
| 1991 | Talkin' Dirty After Dark | Terry | |
| House Party 2 | Bilal | ||
| 1992 | Boomerang | Tyler | |
| 1994 | You So Crazy | Himself | stand-up acting executive producer and writer |
| 1995 | Bad Boys | Marcus Burnett | |
| 1996 | A Thin Line Between Love and Hate | Narrator/Darnell 'Deeny/'D'/D.W.' Wright | also director, exc. producer,music supervisor and writer |
| 1997 | Nothing to Lose | Terrance Paul Davidson | |
| 1999 | Life | Claude Banks | |
| Blue Streak | Miles Logan | ||
| 2000 | Big Momma's House | Malcolm Turner/Big Momma | also executive producer |
| 2001 | What's the Worst That Could Happen? | Kevin Caffery | |
| Black Knight | Jamal Walker/Skywalker | ||
| 2002 | Martin Lawrence Live: Runteldat | Himself | also executive producer stand-up acting/writer |
| 2003 | National Security | Earl Montgomery | also executive producer |
| Bad Boys II | Marcus Burnett | ||
| 2005 | Rebound | Roy McCormick/Preacher Don | also executive producer |
| 2006 | Big Momma's House 2 | Malcolm Turner | |
| Open Season | Boog | voice | |
| 2007 | Wild Hogs | Bobby Davis | |
| 2008 | Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins | Dr. RJ Stevens/Roscoe Steven Jenkins, Jr. | |
| College Road Trip | Chief James Porter |
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