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Image Courtesy Credit Roger Erickson/UnviersalAs everyone gears up to check out Furious 7, the latest installment in the Fast & Furious franchise, director John Singleton tells GrantLand.com how Ja Rule walked away from reprising his role as Edwin in 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious, which inadvertently helped to launch Ludacris‘ acting career.
“Ja got too big for himself. He turned it down. He turned down a half a million dollars,” says Singleton, who helmed the sequel. “[Ja] got 15 grand to be in the first movie. He was really big at that time…He was acting like he was too big to be in the sequel. He wouldn’t return calls.”
Given the circumstance, Singleton reached out to Luda, who went on to star in additional installments of the franchise. “I called Ludacris. I said, ‘Hey, Luda, I haven’t met you before, but I like what you’re doing right now.’ Luda was all humble, excited to meet me,” Singleton recalls. “I said, ‘I’m doing this movie and I’m wondering if you want to be a part of it.’ He goes, ‘What? Yeah! Anything you do I want to be a part of.’ That’s how Ludacris got in 2 Fast 2 Furious, and the rest is history.”
Following the film’s success, Singleton reveals that he later bumped into Ja Rule at the Source Awards.
“We joked about it. I took him under my arm and said, ‘Man, when I call you, you listen. I ain’t calling you for no bulls**t.’ He said, ‘Yeah, man, I’m sorry about that.’ He apologized,” Singleton says.
Furious 7 is playing in theaters now.
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