Joyner Lucas is on his way to Hollywood after A-lister Mark Wahlberg helped the rapper land his very first acting role.
According to TMZ, Wahlberg “handpicked” Joyner for the role in a new film, which is set to start shooting over the next six months and is due to be released in late 2023 or early 2024. There’s no word on co-stars or the title of the blockbuster.
The 34-year-old celebrated his first acting gig by posting an Instagram photo with the Ted star and called the transition to acting something he’s “always dreamed” of.
“I got a starring role In my first MOVIE wit one of my best friends. @markwahlberg,” he wrote. “Shooting for a few months. This is the acting transition that I always dreamed of and I owe it to you. love you buddy.”
Wahlberg praised Joyner’s acting chops in the comment section and is excited to work with the rapper. “You got the skills buddy!! Time to do the work,” he wrote.
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Joyner Lucas and Wahlberg became close friends after he recruited the Shooter actor for a role in his “Zim Zimma” video alongside George Lopez and Diddy.
The ADHD rhymer has become known for his cinematic visuals and creative storytelling, which dates back to him breaking out with the “Ross Capicchioni” video in 2015. His “I’m Not Racist” visual made waves in the industry and is his most-viewed clip to date with over 148 million views on YouTube.
Lucas isn’t the first rapper to test out their acting chops in recent years, with a long list of artists heading to Hollywood including Joey Bada$$, Lil Dicky, Freddie Gibbs and more.
On the music side of things, JL is still busy working on his next LP as his most recent project titled Evolution arrived in October 2020.
Meanwhile, Mark Wahlberg might be helping another of rap’s big names get on the big screen.
In August, DJ Khaled posted a video on Instagram showing him speaking with the actor on FaceTime about his new single “Staying Alive,” which features Drizzy and Lil Baby.
Wahlberg said he couldn’t stop playing the song and loved the acting in the accompanying music video, which led to Khaled mentioning doing a movie with the Honestly, Nevermind hitmaker.
“I’m telling you now, you get Khaled and Drake to do a movie together, it’s game over,” Khaled said, to which Wahlberg replied: “I see. We should have a meeting. I got that movie with me and Kevin Hart coming out right after. We should just pitch an idea to Netflix.”
[via]
