Jo-Vaughn “Joey Bada$$” Scott took on the lead role in the Oscar-winning short film Two Distant Strangers. Apparently, the Pro Era frontman could have been cast in another Netflix-distributed motion picture.
While speaking with Ebro Darden on Apple Music 1, Joey Bada$$ talked about nearly playing the character of Jim Beckwourth in The Harder They Fall. Director Jeymes Samuel’s award-winning Western was a streaming hit for Netflix.
“So shout out to my man Jeymes Samuel. I met him at the Roc Nation Brunch at the top of 2020, right before the world met its demise. We just kind of connected,” said Bada$$. “It was just one of those moments. You know you meet some of those people in life and it’s just like, yo, this is somebody you’re going to know for a long time. It was one of those vibes.”
The Brooklyn-bred emcee continued, “A few months later [Samuel] hit me up. He actually put the bug in my ear at the brunch. He said he was working on this crazy film, which was The Harder They Fall. He had this role for me. Like you see dude with the pistols and s###? That’s supposed to be me. Shout to my man RJ [Cyler] though who actually got the role. The young dude with the two pistols and everything. So Jeymes wanted me to play that role.”
The Chart-Topping The Harder They Fall Features A Star-Studded Cast
Besides RJ Cyler, The Harder They Fall also stars Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz, Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Lakeith Stanfield, Danielle Deadwyler, Edi Gathegi, and Deon Cole. Roc Nation head Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter is a producer for the movie.
The Harder They Fall topped the Nielsen U.S. Streaming Chart in November. In addition, the Overbrook Entertainment release received honors from the African-American Film Critics Association, the Black Reel Awards, and the Gotham Awards.
Joey Bada$$’s acting résumé includes stints on television series such as Mr. Robot, Boomerang, Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Grown-ish, and Power Book III: Raising Kanan. His music discography contains the B4.DA.$$ and All-Amerikkkan Bada$$ albums. The 27-year-old entertainer confirmed he is working on his third studio LP.
