David Banner Talks New Acting Role, Downfalls Of Being A Rapper/Actor

Ever the aspiring thespian following his breakout role in 2007’s Black Snake Moan, David Banner will star in the upcoming independent thriller, The Confidant, set to begin filming on May 13 in Los Angeles.

The film, also starring Boris Kodjoe (Brown Sugar) and Richard Roundtree (Shaft), follows Banner as Jackson, a talented painter who takes the fall for a murder his friend Nigel, an NFL draft pick, has committed. After serving 11 years in prison, a time over which his friend has completely neglected him, Jackson seeks revenge.

“When a person has gone through what my character has gone through, it’s a mental jousting because it goes back and forth between so many emotions,” Banner told XXLMag.com about the role.

However, Banner is well prepared, making a serious commitment to his craft after falling in love with acting on his first go-round. “After I did Black Snake Moan with Samuel L. Jackson, I just caught the bug,” he says. “Instead of buying jewelry and others things I could’ve spent my money on, I was flying out every week to L.A., going to acting classes because it was something that I knew I wanted to do.”

One role he says he never plans to tackle is that of his day job. “Acting gives me the ability to be somebody else, to experience somebody else’s life and that’s wonderful.” He adds, “One negative thing about being a rapper is that we have allowed our music to be turned into something that people take literally. Music is supposed to have the ability to take you somewhere else, not keep you in the reality that you’re already in because we already live the stuff that we talk about in most of our music. I don’t wanna hear that shit, too—not all the time.”

Fans who would like to be part of the acting process can follow David Banner as he films The Confidant on his Twitter account, @therealbanner. - Devin Chanda