I can’t figure out Xzibit’s strategy as an actor. The rapper seems an unlikely candidate for acting – in fact, other than putting on a tough guy face, I haven’t really seen Xzibit do much to push himself. Somehow he keeps getting roles however, and now he’s working with quite an acclaimed director: Oliver Stone.
The Hollywood Reporter has announced that Xzibit has joined the cast of Stone’s next picture, Pinkville, alongside Bruce Willis, Channing Tatum, and Woody Harrelson. With that cast, you’d almost expect Stone to be putting on a comedy, but nothing could be farther from the truth.
Pinkville tells a drama set during the 1968 My Lai Massacre, where American troops killed over 500 people, including women, children, and the elderly. Xzibit will play a soldier who stands behind taking part in the massacre from a moral perspective, feeling what he has done is right. It definitely sounds like a deeper role than those the rapper-turned-actor has taken on in the past, in movies like Derailed and Gridiron Gang.
Production on the United Artists film is expected to being next year, and with Stone’s name attached the heavy drama could be a likely Oscar contender. Xzibit is clearly going to have to take his acting a little more seriously to avoid turning his part of the movie into a joke.
