Everyone has been talking about the remake of the classic film “Roots” as the four-night mini-series airs tonight on A&E and Lifetime.
However, T.I. one of the many stars in the reboot visited The Huffington Post last week and revealed that he was a little hesitant to accepting his role within the special.
Playing a Cyrus, a “head strong slave fighting for freedom for the Union Army against the Confederate Forces”, T.I. said, “I will admit that I was one of the ones to say, ‘Man, I don’t know if that needs to be remade.’
However, after thinking about it for a while and with a little convincing from producer, Will Packer, he gladly accepted the role. He said, “It was just a huge undertaking for him as a producer and for me as an actor to sign up to remake such a classic and to tell a story that has so much pain and just so much turmoil involved in it.”
Although he is not too familiar with the concept of slavery first hand, he did draw from real life experiences to help get into the character of Cyrus.
“I kind of amplified my thoughts and how I felt when my freedom was separate and apart from me.” Referring to his experiences of being incarcerated, he continued, “So I kind of took that and pushed upon it, because Cyrus is actually thee most rebellious and non-subservient character that there is.”
Part I of ‘Roots’ airs tonight on A&E and Lifetime at 9pm EST.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/ti-initially-against-joining-roots-remake_us_57474dc6e4b0dacf7ad45ccd
