After more than five years, four writers and a tough-to-please trio that
holds cast and script veto power, Universal’s N.W.A biopic
Straight Outta Compton is finally getting the green light....
It’s no secret that Cube has been lobbying for his son,
O’Shea Jackson Jr., 24, to be cast as the teen version of his father, and it appears he got his wish.
Less known is the classically-trained actor who is said to have won the role of Dre,
Marcus Callender.
Although the alum of New York’s Shakespeare Lab at the Public Theater
might be more familiar with Chekhov than Compton’s gang-plagued streets,
he beat out a phalanx of would-be rappers (the Beats co-founder
originally wanted Michael B. Jordan to play him, but the actor is about to take on a
Fantastic Four reboot at Fox). Still, Callender has some screen credits, including the pilot for
Steve Zaillian’s Criminal Justice on HBO, as well as bit parts in the CBS series
Blue Bloods and
Elementary.
Even more obscure is
Jason Mitchell,
who insiders say landed the role of Eazy-E after an out-of-the-park
screen test. If his casting sticks, it will make for a great backstory,
given that he is said to have no acting background and works in a
kitchen. (Ironically, IMDB.com already lists two actors that are not
correct:
Donat Sean Abiff as Dre and
Brian Gilbert as Cube.)
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