Ice-T credits his gangsta rap background with helping him make a smooth transition into acting.
During a recent appearance on N.O.R.E. and DJ EFN's Drink Champs, the 65-year old shed light on how his experience as a rapper paved the way for his successful acting career.
Back in 1991, four years after dropping his landmark album, 1987's Rhyme Pays, Ice-T made his big screen debut as police detective Scotty Appletonin in the Wesley Snipes-starring New Jack City. Since 2000, the hip-hop legend has portrayed NYPD dectective Odafin Tutuola in NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.
“I was scared — I thought, like I said, it was career suicide,” Ice-T admitted. “But then I got all my people saying, ‘Man this is a chance.’ There’s no studying, you just act. Acting is make-believe … just act.”
Ice-T continued by making a comparison between a cop and gangster, claiming that both roles demand from the performer a similar type of acting.
“We all have had enough experience with the cops, you can act like a cop,” Ice-T shared. “Like when I’m on Law & Order, right before I do the scene, I just go ‘Asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole.’ And then I talk down to you. But dig this, playing a cop and playing a gangster is the exact same acting. Exact same acting. We both got a gun, we both got an attitude, we both want answers, or there will be a consequence.”
Watch Ice-T's full appearance on Drink Champs below.
