Andre 3000 May Play Jimi Hendrix, Has Jason Derulo To Thank

admin | July 7, 2011 11:22 am

Andre 3000 is no stranger to the acting world — he’s appeared on TV shows like The Shield, in the Will Ferrell comedy Semi-Pro and even starred in the musical Prohibition-era Idlewild. But the “Party”-goer’s next project could be a doozy – the Outkast man is reportedly playing Jimi Hendrix in an independently-made biopic of the artist’s life. Interesting, since that is the exact same part that Jason Derulo claims he turned down!

Actress Hayley Atwell, who next appears in Captain America, dished to Esquire about some upcoming projects, and she let it slip that Andre 3000 (born Andre Benjamin) may star as Hendrix in an upcoming biopic. “Next up is possibly a Jimi Hendrix biopic — an independent film with Andre 3000 from OutKast playing Jimi Hendrix,” she told the mang. “But I don’t know, really. The Atwell team is like, Let’s just wait and see.”

That’s a pretty meaty role for the rapper, but according to Jason Derulo, the part was his first. The “Don’t Wanna Go Home” singer told MTV-UK this week that he had to turn down the chance to play Hendrix so he could focus on his new album, Future History (out later this year).

Future History is my main focus right now, it’s the greatest accomplishment of my life so far,” he said. “I really wanted to make sure it gets the exposure it deserves. It has to be heard by everybody. After this album, I will dive full-throttle into movies for a while. I will ultimately take a break from music.”

We’re not entirely convinced either artist could pull of Jimi Hendrix, though we have a harder time imagining Derulo effortlessly disappearing into an iconic figure like Hendrix. (At least Andre kind of looks the part.) But remember when there were like five different Janis Joplin biopics in the works attached to any number of actresses, from Renee Zellweger to Zoey Deschanel, and none of them got made? Let’s not be shocked if that happens again with Jimi.

Watch the man in action below and tell us who would do Hendrix’s legacy justice.