T.I. Auditioned For Nick Cannon’s Role In ‘Drumline’ But Turned It Down Because He Couldn’t Play The Drums: I Just Didn’t Want To Commit Myself To It At The Time

T.I., Nick Cannon

T.I. Auditioned For Nick Cannon’s Role In ‘Drumline’ But Turned It Down Because He Couldn’t Play The Drums: I Just Didn’t Want To Commit Myself To It At The Time

Before making his acting debut in the 2006 film ‘ATL,’ it appears T.I. once auditioned for the lead role in ‘Drumline.’

During a recent interview on Shannon Sharpe‘s ‘Club Shay Shay’ podcast, the Atlanta rapper discussed his acting career and revealed he auditioned for Nick Cannon‘s role in ‘Drumline,’ however, turned it down because he didn’t know how to play the drums.

T.I. explained,

“Dallas Austin was a huge, huge, huge producer-songwriter. Just an incredible talent and an incredible mogul. And he was getting into films and he had this one film. I was working on my first album, he was telling me about his first film and you know, I was always like, ‘Yo bruh, put me in it.’ And he was like, ‘Aight, yeah man! Say less.’”

T.I.

He continued,

“And he sent me to go read and I read and they were like, ‘Man, you got to learn how to play the drums.’ And I was like, ‘I could play like I could play the drums.’ They were like, ‘Nah, you gotta learn how.’ I was like ‘Mannn, I don’t wanna do that.’”

He added,

“I just didn’t want to commit myself to it at the time. It wasn’t there. But I read and I didn’t get it, and that movie went on to be Drumline.. I was reading for Nick Cannon’s part.”

Although he didn’t get the part, T.I. noted that it turned out to be a blessing in disguise that led him to the leading role in ‘ATL.’

“But look, that opened the door for me to do ATL! After I didn’t get the role for Drumline, I went back to Dallas and said, ‘Man next time bruh, just give me the role. I ain’t going to read or nothing! Just give me the role.’ And he was like, ‘Cool,’ and he just gave the role for Rashad in ATL.”

T.I. then shared that he and Nick Cannon often joke about the situation, however, he’s thankful for the way things turned out.

A lot of times, Nick Cannon and I, we be going back and forth and we get on each other. I be like, ‘Yea man, you took my role.’ And he say, ‘Yeah but I’da traded you for your role.’ I said, ‘You couldn’t have did my role!’ And we just have that kind of rapport. So I’m happy! You know, all things happen for a reason. What God got for you can’t no one take from you.”

2002’s ‘Drumline’ is a coming-of-age teen comedy-drama film that follows a young drummer from New York, played by Nick Cannon, who enters the fictional Atlanta A&T University in Atlanta, Ga, and bumps heads with the leader of the drum section. It was a success at the box office, earning over $56 million in the U.S.

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