Fred Durst

A musician turned actor-director primarily associated with his tenure as the frontman and co-founder of the popular rap-metal act Limp Bizkit, Fred Durst began his occupational life as a tattoo artist after his honorable discharge from the Navy. He formed Bizkit in Florida circa 1994 at the age of 23, by teaming up with percussionist John Otto, guitarist Wes Borland and bassist Sam Rivers. Another act, Korn, soon got their hands on the group's demo tape and felt so impressed that they passed it along to their producer, Ross Robinson. That coup helped Limp Bizkit land a spot opening for The Deftones and House of Pain; a contract with Flip/Interscope Records and numerous albums followed, catapulting the outfit to the forefront of the rap metal genre. Unsurprisingly, Durst's early film-oriented work consisted primarily of music videos for Bizkit, but by the mid-2000s, he began to branch out into non-musical acting roles, where the rough-cut, tattoo-laden rapper made a unique and memorable impression among audiences. Assignments included a small supporting role in the psychologically-charged social issues drama Sorry, Haters (2005) and a lead opposite Jeremy Sisto in the small town-set supernatural thriller Population 436 (2006). Durst then stepped behind the camera with a pair of directorial efforts: the psychodrama The Education of Charlie Banks (2007) weaves the tale of a disturbed young man (Jason Ritter) who aggressively insinuates himself into the life of a college student (Jesse Eisenberg) in whom he provoked fear and terror during childhood; the much different picture The Longshots, on the other hand, is a sports comedy about an ex-football player (Ice Cube) who trains his sports-happy 11-year-old niece to qualify as the first female quarterback in her children's football league.

~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide