[IMG:L]They may have the thug life mastered, but rappers-turned-actors frequently take plenty of hits film critics before earning respect on screen. Chris “Ludacris” Bridges quickly sidestepped the bad rap, however–his performances in Crash and Hustle and Flow were acclaimed and respected, and they were only his second and third films.
Television has been good to Ludacris too. His first appearance on Law and Order: SVU as Darius Parker, the step-son of series regular Det. Odafin Tutuola (Ice-T), was so striking that they brought him back for an encore. Darius returns for the season finale on May 22, now on trial for murdering a mother and infant.
With a new album and single at the top of the charts and more movies in the works, it’s amazing Ludacris had time for the show, let alone to muse about his multiple crafts.
Hollywood.com: You broke into film a few years ago. Was breaking into television similar–or different?
Chris Bridges: Breaking into television was a great transition because, me doing all the videos and stuff and being in front of camera, I feel like I have to battle being comfortable in front of the camera while there are thousand people standing behind me. So, it was a great transition, man, I’m going to say.
[IMG:R]HW: Was acting in the back of your mind in high school or college? Did you do any shows or anything?
CB: I never really did. I love movies, but I never really thought about myself acting. John Singleton, who’s famous for taking a lot of entertainers and putting them on the big screen, had a lot to do with my transition because he asked me to be in 2 Fast 2 Furious, which was kind of like my big first theatrical release. So, ever since then, I’ve been challenging myself and the people seem to like it. It has motivated me to want to do more, try harder things and challenge myself.
HW: Did you get an acting coach or take any lessons, or is it just all self-taught?
CB: It’s pretty much self-taught. I don’t really take any lessons. It’s more of just sitting down with the directors and the people that I’m doing the scenes with and understanding the character and the role. So that’s pretty much how it is. I’ve worked with some acting coaches here and there, but nothing major.
HW: As far as being a musician turned actor, does television give you different opportunities than films?
CB: Yeah. Television moves a lot faster than the movies do. It’s kind of like, they have to get things done within a certain timeframe. But it is a little different. And I love working on Law & Order: SVU.
HW: Do you and Ice-T ever battle it out on the set or do you try to separate the rapping from your acting?
CB: No, we don’t rap on the SVU set! We just talk about the acting. So, we don’t battle it out. We might tell old stories and tour stories and things of that nature, but not focus on music while we’re on the set.
HW: As a musician, what do you think of those two classic notes that indicate Law & Order?
CB: Oh, I like them. I wish I could take them and sample them and put them in a song. We may try and do that one time.
[IMG:L]HW: Musicians have made great actors ever since Frank Sinatra. Is there something about music that makes it easier?
CB: I can’t really speak for everybody else. I just feel like I have to battle being comfortable in front of that camera and being able to focus on your craft while there are so many people watching you. As far as the music is concerned, we have emotions, we write them down on paper. When we do videos, we act out our own emotion. So acting is the next step, basically acting out some emotion you have in your body or trying to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
HW: Is this character completely opposite of who you really are?
CB: I mean, you know, there are characteristics in here that are not of mine, so yes, it’s stretch from our everyday personality.
HW: You seem so mellow. Where did you get that emotion? How did you bring out the anger and the angst?
CB: It’s really just about understanding the character and trying to make up in your mind how he was raised, and the type of person he was as opposed to who I am.
HW: What are some of the things that you like about the show in general and about your character, Darius in particular?
CB: Man, it’s always a twist and there’s a lot of things that are unexpected. That’s why on the show itself, I feel like it’s very interesting because they pull from real life stories. But as far my particular episode, there are things that, sometimes when you watch SVU, you try and put things together and you say, “Well, this is going to happen, it’s going to happen.” But I don’t think people are anywhere close to understanding the ways things happen in the episode that I’m in, so that’s why I love being Darius and it’s like just expect the unexpected and that’s always great for television.
HW: With all of the things you’re involved with, where did this episode fall in your schedule?
CB: We kind of had to make it happen, man. I don’t know. My schedule is very hectic, but we make time to do certain things and, of course, this is extremely important. I’ve been waiting to do this role–so we just fit it in. To answer your question, I’m amazed myself, man. My schedule is ridiculous. Sometimes I don’t understand how people fit it in either. It’s definitely magical.
HW: With everything you have going on, do you still have ideas and ambitions for other things you want to get involved with?
CB: Oh, absolutely. You know, one day I would love to be like Dick Wolf. I think we all aspire to be like that and produce some things or you have to re-run an episode on television at the same time.
