O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson rose to fame in the entertainment industry in the late 1980s as a member and writer for the popular hip-hop group NWA. Despite NWA’s success, Jackson ultimately left the group in 1989, reportedly over a financial dispute with the group’s manager.
After Jackson’s departure, he would make his acting debut in 1991’s “Boyz n the Hood.” The film — which also starred Cuba Gooding Jr., Morris Chestnut, Lawrence Fishburne and others — followed three Black men as they navigated life in the ghetto in Los Angeles, California. Jackson portrayed the role of a gang member named Doughboy.
In an interview with the “On the Guest List” podcast last month, Jackson opened up about how he was able to transition into acting.
While describing his encounter with “Boyz n the Hood” director John Singleton, Jackson said at mark 16:54 of the interview, “It’a all based on creativity. You know I love to create at a high level. Music is creating at a high level, when you are putting out records. Doing movies is creating at a high level, so it’s really about my creative juices and what I want to creatively be a part of or produce or create.”
The 53-year-old continued, “That’s where it all starts from; that where the diversity comes from. At first, I just wanted to be the best rapper in the world, you know, I was satisfied with that. And I met John Singleton in 1989, and he pursued me. I met him in 1988 actually and he pursued me for many years to do ‘Boyz n the Hood’ and so I did it and great experience.”
Further in the discussion, Jackson mentioned that his creative juices in film began flowing following the positive reception that “Boyz n the Hood” received. He said, “That just got my movie juices going. I had acted in a few movies, but I never found a script as good as ‘Boyz n the Hood.’ “
Toward the end of the interview, Jackson disclosed the regrets he made early on in his acting career. One of them included passing on the role of O-Dog in “Menace to Society.” He said he declined the offer because of his prior role as a gang member in “Boyz n the Hood” and the fear of being typecast.
On mark 38:18, while praising Larenz Tate for his performance as O-Dog, he said, “I had a shot to do O-Dog. Even though I think Larenz Tate killed it. I just didn’t want to be typecast. You know what I mean. I was like I just did ‘Boyz n the Hood.’ They’re just gon’ have me the L.A. gangbanger, you know, every d–n movie. That was like the second movie I got offered so I was like ‘Nah, I don’t want to play that.’ “
