Kanye West’s audition for Will Ferrell’s Semi-Pro movie was supposedly “terrible”
Kanye West loves Will Ferrell, the rapper sampled the comedian in one of his studio albums, cameo in his films and frequently plays him unreleased music. Kanye West even told GQ in an interview that Kanye West often cites Will Ferrell as a spiritual guide alongside God. During the interview, he repeated a line from Step Brothers to illustrate why he decided to marry Kim Kardashian: “Never lose your dinosaur.”
What was not discussed in the interview and has not been publicly revealed until now, is that West once auditioned for a spiritual guidance counselor in 2006.
Kanye West recorded a short tape with Ferrell as part of an audition for a role in the 2008 movie, Semi–Pro. The role eventually went to another rapper, Andre 3000, but the tape is still floating around in Hollywood and the man is trying to sell says Kanye West’s acting is “terrible”.
According to Defamer, the website was offered thousands of dollars for video footage of the audition. But, the website refused to pay for it. Now, photographs and details regarding West’s audition have been released:
This is for the role he lost to Andre Benjamin and it’s very obvious why — he’s a terrible actor. He’s wearing a ridiculous afro wig that he brought himself to the interview. He seems insecure and wooden through the whole tape, including some gems like:
“I did it much better in my dining room” and after the audition asking “It’s not great like I leave the office and not-so-great?”
This is not the first time someone commented on Kanye West’s acting. Several years ago he filmed a TV pilot for HBO and audience members commented that his acting was awkward.
Allison Jones, the casting director on Semi–Pro, was enthusiastic about Kanye West’s potential as a comedian.
“He was pretty good, just green,” she writes in an email. “That I remember. Truly, he had good instincts. I don’t remember anyone saying anything negative at all, just that he was too green at that point. As I recall he is a huge comedy fan and very savvy about the comedy world.”
Jones says that West was never seriously considered for the role.
Editors at Gawker are still interested in the video of the trailer. Once the video footage surfaces, we will keep you updated!
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Photo Credit: Everett Collection / Shutterstock.com
