As the story tells it, before Drake became an international superstar, he starred in the Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation as Jimmy Brooks. While he has since put his acting career on pause, he’s been vocal about appreciating the time he spent on set of the series.
As previously reported, Drake was reportedly firm on his decision to separate his rap aspirations from his acting career despite pressure from producers. In some new details surrounding his time on the series, show creators Stephen Stohn and Linda Schuyler revealed that Drake would often come to set late. To avoid this from happening, he inked an exclusive deal with the set’s security guards to ensure it didn’t happen again.
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“That final year, the ADs came to me at one point and said, “Linda, we’re having a lot of trouble with Aubrey. He’s coming to set late. He doesn’t know his lines. He’s not focused,” explained Schuyler, chalking it up to the fact that the OVO head honcho was actively trying to pursue his rap career. After talking to him about it, she noted he was in fact never late again.
“I later found out that how this worked. He would work for us during the day, and then he would leave. At night, he would be going to the recording studio. He would be laying down tracks. He would be doing all his connections and emailing and writing,” she furthered.
“At about two or three in the morning, he had made a deal with our security guards after he got reprimanded. After he’d been working most of the night, he would then come and sleep in his dressing room, so that when he was needed to be called for his eight o’clock call or whatnot, they just knocked on his door and got him up,” finished the producer.
Ultimately, Drake’s impressive work ethic clearly paid off.
[via]