West Orlando comedian Kam Patterson, who in 2023 earned a regular slot on the popular comedy podcast “Kill Tony,” has been tapped for a role in the forthcoming Netflix film 72 Hours, a Kevin Hart vehicle directed by Tim Story, known for his work on Barbershop, Think Like a Man and Ride Along.
The bachelor party-themed comedy follows a 40-year-old executive, played by Hart, who hopes to revive his struggling career by joining a group of 20-somethings on a wild three-day bender after he’s inadvertently added to their group text.
The 26-year-old Patterson’s work on the film has taken him away from the comedy stage, and he won’t even be able to perform at the Jacksonville and Orlando “Killers of Kill Tony” tour stops in July, as previously planned, his father Kenneth Patterson tells Orlando Weekly.
“Recently, Kam opened for Adam Ray, and when they called out Kam’s name, the crowd roared,” says the elder Patterson. “Adam said, ‘Did you hear that? It’s not that he’s on his way to making it. He’s already there.’ I’m just so proud of him for what he’s put into this.”
The younger Patterson got his start in 2021 in Orlando’s open mic scene, performing frequently at Wil “Dirtbag” Miller’s mic at Night Shade Lounge in Parramore, Vince Taylor’s Comedy & Karaoke at The Dreams Lounge in Casselberry, and other local comedy venues. Patterson rarely missed a night to work on his craft.
“I have a one-track mind about comedy,” he tells OW. “At one point I had a job at Foot Locker, and I was always telling my co-workers stories. They were like, ‘Man, you funny as hell. You should be a comedian.’ They’re the ones who really got me thinking I could do it.”
Patterson recalls telling his parents years ago he planned on forging a career in comedy.
“My dad told me, ‘Well, if you gonna do it, you gotta do all you can and keep going and don’t stop.’ And then he texted me a picture of all the great comedians together in a barbershop,” says Patterson. “‘You gotta strive to be in this picture,’ he told me.”
The digital artwork by artist Ma’alik Wright is titled The Comedy Shop and features Bernie Mac, Dave Chappelle, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and, in a bit of foreshadowing, Kevin Hart.
Patterson’s comedic gifts were apparent long before that day.
When he was about 10, he did a little set at his grandmother’s 70th birthday party in Gainesville, riffing about her habit of going to arcades and leaving him with her dog, Jazzy. Even at that tender age, Patterson had already developed a skill for bringing the laughs. He delivered informal performances in second grade at Orlo Vista Elementary, where his teacher would allow him to tell jokes to the class if Patterson finished his schoolwork.
When in his early 20s, Patterson was at loose ends about his future, at one point considering becoming a firefighter. His path forward crystallized as he spent more time on the mic.
“I felt sick if I missed a single day at an open mic,” he says. “Even though sometimes open mics can be horrible, that’s where you learn to carry a crowd and test new material.”
Patterson worked rooms with a tight group of up-and-coming comedians, including Jonte “Taetattedup” Vaughn, Derriel “Shopwitchaboy” Lewis and “King Quelz” Sumter, among others. Their sets surged with raw energy and an instinct to push boundaries.
“It was the dawning of all our careers,” says Sumter. “We were fresh out of COVID, literally just a bunch of hungry, highly motivated comedians standing on dreams and ambition.”
Vaughn notes that at the time, the group didn’t have a specific destination in mind.
“We just knew we wanted to be famous. We were learning how to structure our jokes, trying to figure out what was funny and what wasn’t funny, and being ourselves,” she says.
“As a vet watching these kids in the game with so much talent and life ahead of them, it was an amazing time,” says Roberto “Mini” Font, one of Central Florida’s respected comedy fixtures and 2022 winner of the venerable March Madness Comedy Competition. “It was refreshing that they didn’t even know how good they were, yet they were one of the best rookie comedy classes Orlando ever had.”
By 2022, Patterson knew he had to broaden his horizons. He met an opener for comedian Jason Banks, which led to an invitation to open for Banks. Eventually, Patterson moved to Austin, where he quickly escalated his visibility, and bigger opportunities started coming.
He performed on a live episode of “Kill Tony” at Madison Square Garden in August 2024 and has toured the U.S. over the past couple of years, hitting every major city and many of the smaller towns in between.
Patterson’s role in 72 Hours hasn’t been publicly revealed by Netflix or the production team. Casting announcements only confirm that he’s part of the all-star ensemble, alongside Hart, Teyana Taylor, Marcello Hernández, Mason Gooding, Zach Cherry and Ben Marshall. Angela Bassett is also rumored to be in talks to join the cast.
The script was written by Matt Mider, Kevin Burrows, Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg. Ross Fanger serves as an executive producer, with Davis Entertainment, Counterbalance, HartBeat, and Will Packer also producing the film in partnership with Sony Pictures.
Stay tuned for big things.
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This article appears in Jun 25 – Jul 1, 2025.