LL COOL J has revisited the moment during which his scene-stealing role in the 1999 sci-fi thriller Deep Blue Sea almost turned tragic.
The Hip Hop icon appeared on this week’s episode of Hot Ones, during which he was asked about a number of little known facts about his lengthy film and music career. Among those was the surprising revelation that one of the animatronic sharks used in the film almost managed to take him out.
As LL tells it, he was filming a scene with the robotic animal just as the production staff was called to lunch. “I was in the middle of a take and the guy holding the [shark’s controller], just broke, and they bailed on me,” he recalled.
While they gave him a device to assist with his breathing, LL COOL J said that when he attempted to breath in air, all he got from the device was water instead, which “took it to another level. I ended up struggling and getting out,” he added. “And when I climbed out [the pool], there was this one dude sitting there with a cigarette [laughing like], ‘I saw what happened’”
Prior to appearing in Deep Blue Sea, LL COOL J was already well on his way to establishing himself in Hollywood with over a dozen titles under his belt. In the years since, he’s shifted the focus of his acting career from film to television, most notably finding success as Special Agent Sam Hanna on NCIS: Los Angeles.
The newly minted media mogul – who, last year, expanded his Rock The Bells brand to include a festival last summer and an upcoming Hip Hop cruise – attributed his ability to carve a path outside of music to discipline.
“Discipline equals freedom,” he explained. “The music industry is a wonderful business, and it can be a wonderful business, but the reality is not many people are very disciplined. You make it to the gold chain now what? You make it to the diamond neck brace now what? It’s the discipline.”
He continued: “The guys you see that are successful, and the women that you see that are successful the people that you see that are successful they’re disciplined. Like I always tell my staff and my team — it’s corny, and it sounds cheesy — but ego is not your amigo, humility is your superpower.”
After announcing last month that he was planning a musical comeback in 2023, the Queens legend took to his Twitter page on Wednesday (February 22) to announce that he would no longer drop his 14th studio album, stating that more work needed to be done on the album.
In a series of now deleted tweets, he revealed that he’s still “trying to figure this album out” and followed that up with a post that read, “just not feeling like this album is worthy of being released [facepalm emoji] I tried.” He also added: “not dropping it.”
However, LL COOL J returned hours later to clarify that the project is still moving forward and tagged Q-Tip, who’s serving as executive producer. Mr. Smith also trolled fans with a boisterous reason behind the delay with the album.
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