Several people were offered roles, notably, Timothy Olyphant, who could have played the iconic Dominic “Dom” Toretto, but declined, feeling the fictional driver was too similar to a character he had just played in Gone in 60 Seconds. For the role of the undercover cop, Brian O’Conner, Eminem was approached, but he declined the offer. Even though the rapper only had one acting credit at the time, the decision to offer him the role was understandable, considering his standing as one of the world’s most influential celebrities.
Eminem Chose to Make His Semi-Biographical Film, ‘8 Mile,’ Instead
CBS reports that Eminem couldn’t star in The Fast and the Furious because he had a more personal project (8 Mile) in the pipeline. The semi-autobiographical film — containing many moments from Eminem’s life —follows Detroit’s Jimmy Smith Jr. aka B-Rabbit (Eminem) as he attempts to launch a Hip Hop career.
Despite his crippling fears about the genre being dominated by black rappers, he pushes on believing that some deep-buried fusillade in him is just waiting to be ignited. Soon, he makes his presence felt, challenging the reigning battle rap king’s authority and even getting a rise out of Papa Doc (Anthony Mackle), who is one hood kingpin you don’t want to mess with.
Did Eminem make the right choice? He would be part of a billion-dollar franchise if he had chosen to play Brian. His acting resume would also have looked very different. To date, 8 Mile is the only big-budget film or TV show that features the rapper in a lead role. The rest of his appearances have come in a cameo capacity. If he had jumped into Brian’s Nissan Skyline GT-R R34, more acting opportunities would have come up, and he’d now be seen as both a rapper and one of the world’s greatest movie stars.
8 Mile’s reception also proves that Eminem made the best choice. The intricacy of the semi- biopic’s intertwined plots has a plain and modest efficiency that undergirds the onscreen events like an architectural framework, and Eminem fits into that framework with a vigorous variety of raps and outbursts. The film won him an Oscar (Best Original Song for “Lose Yourself”), something The Fast & the Furious would never have done. On top of that, the film made more money, bringing in $242.9 million globally, compared to the racing flick’s $207 million.
How the ‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise Might Have Looked Like with Eminem
The second possibility is scarier. The franchise would have easily died after the first film. Given his busy schedule as a rapper, there is a big probability that Eminem wouldn’t have been interested in returning for a second film. Being required to be on set almost every year might have proved to be a wrenching adjustment for Marshall Matthers, who likes being his boss and whose greatness is tied to spending a lot of time in a music studio.
Musicians Are a Major Part of the ‘Fast & Furious’ Franchise
The Fast & Furious franchise might have missed out on Eminem’s brilliance, but it has still scored major music-related names over the years. Ludacris and Tyrese are still portraying two of the most beloved members of Dom’s crew, and there would be an uproar if either the rapper or the singer were to be left off the next installment.
Given such a wide array of singing and rapping talent, a musical installment sounds like a good idea. After all, this is a franchise that has taken its characters to space in a modified car. Anything is possible.
Even better, Vin Diesel is willing to tap his toes and sing his heart out. During an appearance on Kelly Clarkson’s show, he was asked whether he would consider doing a Fast & Furious musical.
“I’m dying to do a musical. I’ve been wanting to do a musical my whole life. I was this close to doing ‘Guys and Dolls,’ with Steven Spielberg, and we ended up not doing that, but I’m dying to do a musical. For the longest time, I thought the Nathan Detroit role in ‘Guys and Dolls’ would be a very interesting one to re-vamp.”
