Akin to many MCs, ‘Life Your Life’ emcee T.I. transitioned into film after his success in the music business. Born and raised in Bankhead, Atlanta, T.I. (real name Clifford Harris) was always talented and pursued at a young age and found great success in the late-90s.
However, in the mid-2000s, Harris began to change course and diversify his skillset and aimed to hit the big screen. The lyricist has been in movies such as American Gangster and, in 2011, even landed a VH1 reality TV series, T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle.
Although the rhymer has secured roles in movies and television series, there are a lot of opportunities he missed out on. In an interview with The Daily Beast, Harris admitted that his 2010 prison sentence cost him several roles that might have furthered his acting career.
One incredible comedy movie that Harris missed out on was the 2011 Eddie Murphy film Tower Heist, featuring Ben Stiller. During his conversation with the publication, T.I. shared, “Actually, man, I was supposed to be in Tower Heist. I was ‘indisposed.’ Me and Brian Grazer, who produced American Gangster, were speaking about it when it was just a script, and Brett [Ratner] hadn’t even came on to direct it yet, so it was years ago.”
He continued, “After that, it went away, then came back with Brett attached to it and Ben Stiller, and I was reconsidered, and Brett and I had some very, very positive discussions about it, and I was right there. And then life happened.” However, this wasn’t the only film that Harris missed out on. There were projects he missed out on.
Harris revealed other missed opportunities: “G.I. Joe II, they called me for that. World War Z with Brad Pitt. They called me for that. The Joel Silver movie, Bullet to the Head, I would have been co-starring with Sylvester Stallone. They called me for that, too!”
Harris got rejected so many times, and on one occasion, he got fired by Morgan Freeman after he turned up to a script reading high. Despite his rejections, T.I. still managed to get cast in movies such as Get Hard and Ant-Man. You can hear about Harris struggle in Hollywood below.
