Posted by | Ray Cornelius
Drumline star Nick Cannon said a mouthful on Wednesday when he implied that he may be playing Richard Pryor in a forthcoming biopic.
According to an interview with TMZ, the host of America’s Got Talent all but said that he has the part and hinted that he was collaborating with Butler director, Lee Daniels.
“Here’s the thing. There have been a lot of people out there who’ve discussed playing this role,” the 33-year-old said. “I never want to jinx anything because you guys know how movies work. If it’s not in production, it’s not real. So all I’ll say is that I’m doing the work right now. I’m doing everything that I need to do to embody it when the opportunity is right.”
Cannon later added, “I’ve definitely sat with Lee, who’s a close friend, and we actually worked quite a bit on getting it right.”
What’s interesting about this new revelation is that Cannon doesn’t have the support of Pryor’s two children, Richard Pryor Jr. and Rain Pryor. In fact, they told TMZ that they actually think Marlon Wayans is more suitable for the role and could connect with the character in a compelling way.
Whether Cannon is in the film or not, he did say that he was already physically preparing for the role:
“(I’ve got) the hair, I’m growing all of this out,” he said, referring to his facial hair. “I’m looking like I’m 40 years old. I’m chain-smoking. I told Lee the one thing I’m not going to do is freebase,” he laughed. “I’m not going that far.”
Stay tuned…
Photo Credit: DearDonaldVincent.com
