Comedian Kevin Hart is joining a select group honored with the Mark Twain Prize for American humor

WASHINGTON (AP) — Kevin Hart, who rose from the open mics and comedy clubs of his native Philadelphia to become one of the country's most recognizable performers, will receive the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at a gala performance Sunday at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Hart, 44, has honed a signature style that combines his diminutive height, expressive face and motor-mouth delivery into a successful stand-up act.

In Hollywood, Hart made his movie debut in the 2002 film “Paper Soldiers” and came to mainstream fame through a string of scenestealing cameos in hits such as 2005’s “The 40-YearOld-Virgin.”