Ice Cube Says He Refused To Play Lucky In “Poetic Justice” Because He Was “A Sucker”

Ice Cube says that he rejected an offer to play Lucky in John Singleton’s Poetic Justice, a character famously portrayed by 2Pac, because Lucky was a “sucker.” The NWA member spoke with Big Boy for a new interview, in which he discussed turning down the role.

Cube acknowledged that the role was “going to get me paid, too.”

As for the issue he took with the character, he explained that he “only had one problem with it and he didn’t want to change it, so I didn’t want to do it. The problem was I didn’t think — me playing 2Pac — that I would kick my homeboy out the car for a girl I just met when we got to Oakland. I didn’t think that was cool…It made the character kind of a sucker to me.”

Ice Cube, 2Pac, Poetic Justice
David Becker / Getty Images

Cube also said that he shot down the role of “O-Dog” in Menace II Society, because he didn’t want to be typecast after playing “Doughboy” in Boyz n the Hood.

Pac’s role as Lucky went on to become one of the most famous from his acting career. He also starred as Bishop in Juice and numerous other projects.

[Via]