He studied theatre arts in high school and began performing stand-up comedy shows when he was 14. At the age of 19, he moved to New York City to pursue a career as a comedian. In the following years, he appeared in movies like The Nutty Professor (alongside fellow comedian and one of Chappelle’s childhood idles, Eddie Murphy) and Blue Streak. But the tipping point in his career came in 2003 when he launched his own show – Chappelle’s Show – on Comedy Central.