LL Cool J Interview

[bigted]

I don't like he talks about doing music in the past tense, sounds like he's been hanging out with Will, lol:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-interviews/2010/01/17/ll-cool-j-i-m-as-serious-about-being-an-actor-as-i-was-when-i-was-a-rapper-86908-21974631/

LL Cool J: I'm as serious about being an actor as I was when I was a rapper

Jan 17 2010 Jenny Eden, Sunday Mail

LL COOL J may have become an actor but as he walks into the room it's hard to forget he is rap royalty.

His diamond earrings are the size of small marbles, he's wearing a chunky gold wedding ring with rows of diamonds and his diamondencrusted watch is so blingtastic it almost looks like it cost a tenner down the market. And he's got a trademark hat firmly in place - today it's a dark woolly beanie.

Then, while most US actors are tiny and perfectly formed, LL Cool J is big. His biceps and shoulders are huge - if he flexed them you get the feeling his long-sleeved T shirt might be ripped asunder Incredible Hulk style.

But despite appearances, he and Batman and Robin star Chris O'Donnell have teamed up to have the biggest hit of last year in the US with NCIS LA.

Despite two decades on top of the hip-hop world, two Grammys and enough platinumselling albums to cover the walls of a very big room, he decided it was the right time to leave music behind and concentrate on acting.

"When I was a little younger I might have showed up here with a red mink on, four hours late and pouring everyone champagne," he laughs.

"It took a little maturity to do this. The beauty of everything that I went through in the rap and the hip-hop genre is that it gives me the ability to be humble - and confident because I've already had success."

He's anxious people understand he's taking being a TV star just as seriously as he took being a rap star - he's not just another musician dabbling.

So the music has gone on hold, there are no albums in the pipeline, no gigs being planned and the rap song he wrote that ended up being used on NCIS LA promos in the US was a one-off, knocked out in his trailer between scenes.

He says: "I'm already like the elder statesman, the godfather of rap and kind of have done most of what I can do in it in terms of achievement. I wanted to challenge myself and do something new. It's nice to be the new guy, allowing myself to grow again. That feels good. It's fun."

LL is obviously full of enthusiasm for his new direction. He starred in a sitcom in the 90s playing a down-on-his-luck American footballer, appeared in the Oliver Stone American football movie Any Given Sunday with Al Pacino and landed a string of small movie roles.

But it was a guest starring part as a death row inmate in House, opposite Hugh Laurie, that made him decide he wanted to work in TV.

He says: "It really got me excited. I'm not abandoning music. There are people who really supported my music for many years and continue to and who still appreciate me performing. I love it. But it's nice to go to another level. I'm not doing concerts on the weekend and trying to wake up on Monday and do the show."

NCIS La proved the perfect opportunity for LL to move into TV drama - the spin-off of the military whodunnit hit series that had guaranteed success written all over it.

NCIS, starring Mark Harmon, is one of the few shows that have grown in popularity.

The spinoff takes the story into the world of undercover agents. LL plays former Navy SEAL Special Agent Sam Hanna, an expert in Middle Eastern relations. It meant he could make the most of his impressive physique and there was plenty of action written into the script.

But no one expected it to be the number one hit of 2009 in the US, with 18 million viewers tuning into the first episode. LL is still obviously thrilled by its success.

He says: "This is the first time I've done something mainstream, it's touching."

Knowing there were going to be people out there gunning for him, LL was determined to make the show as good as possible - that meant meeting real life NCIS officers and Navy Seals, and a punishing workout routine.

He says: "I work out four times a week. My trainer comes to set and brings me the worst chicken and tuna fish in history. But I've just got to stay right.

"I went down to Camp Pendleton and met a lot of Marines and Navy guys and behavioural analysts. The thing I took away from the people I met was that they were all really committed to the job, the principle of democracy and the idea of people being free. It's wonderful for me to play a character who believes in that.

"And our technical advisor is a master guns in the Marine Corps. We talk constantly about his tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. I had to learn different ways to hold a gun, what stance to take, how to clear a room and interrogation techniques - it was pretty intense."

And he knows that no matter how successful the show is, there will be people criticising him for wanting to have a second career as an actor.

LL says: "We always run into people who tell us we can't do things. I just never believed that dreams had deadlines. I don't think you should limit yourself. I did my first film in 1985. The way hip-hop grew, there were certain agencies we were involved in who always had a film here and there. You could try it. You take it seriously, you don't. But for some of us, we actually enjoyed acting. I still go to an acting teacher."

It's a long way from his beginnings, growing up in a tough neighbourhood in New York.

At four he saw his mum and grandfather shot by his dad. When his mum recovered she fell for her hospital physiotherapist who physically and verbally abused her son.

LL escaped from the abuse by falling in love with hip-hop. At 16 he was making demos on a turntable bought by his grandad and bombarding big record labels with demos.

It was Rick Rubin, who was still a student at NYU, who gave him his big break when he founded Def Jam Records with Russell Simons and made LL his first signing. Def Jam released his first 12in single, which sold 100,000 copies.

That led to a deal with Def Jam and Columbia and he dropped out of high school to record his first record. By then he had already gone from James Todd Smith to LL Cool J.

He says: "One day I was walking down the street with a friend, Playboy Mikey D. I told him, 'Hey, if your name is Playboy Mikey D, I'm going to be the Ladies Love Cool James,' because I wanted to be cool too. I was 16 so Ladies Love was wishful thinking. Then when I got with Rick Rubin Ladies Love started looking a little long on the label, so we made it LL."

Despite what he says his wife Simone Johnson was his childhood sweetheart. The couple, who married in 1995, have four children - Najee, 20, Italia, 19, Samaria, 14, and Nina, nine.

LL says: "I don't know if my kids think the music or acting is cooler. My older two are in college and grew up with my music, the younger two are totally into acting so they are, 'wow, daddy is in NCIS'."

But his kids could be forgiven for struggling to keep up with their dad's achievements.

He's written four books, a biography, a history of hip-hop, a fitness guide and a children's book. He's launched his own clothing line called Todd Smith and dabbled in the fashion business. He was once part-owner of Def Jam and has had two records labels of his own - the latest Platinum Harvest works with up-and-coming rap artists.

While most actors are busy learning their lines, his head is buzzing with ideas. Not that there's time for anything apart from NCIS. And even his old friends in the hip-hop world aren't too cool to admit they are fans of the hit show.

He says: "I got a lot of slaps on the back. A lot of guys emailed me and said, 'Hey, congratulations. It's exciting to see you doing well. We're happy for you,' he says.

"Usually they only give you feedback about the terrible album you put out."

Edited January 17, 2010 by bigted

[JumpinJack AJ]

I don't like the way he's talking like he's done with music. With that attitude from him and the 'Prince, Hip-Hop is dead. I know this isn't the end of music either of them. I gotta be honest, I've never watched his show and only kinda have an intrest 2 see it. If i knew when and on what network it aired, i'd check it out.

[Turntable]

am i the only one that thinks this show is a step back for LL? I'm not saying its bad, but it seems to me his time with the music and the somehow big movies was "bigger"

[bigted]

Like AJ I haven't yet seen NCIS, I see it advertised on CBS whenever I watch NFL games on there, usually there's a game on ESPN I'm watching whenever it's on so I end up forget about watching it

[VIsqo]

The show is great! It aint Burn Notice, but its pretty cool to watch.

[Hero1]

It's a pretty good show, and LL has some funny scenes.. It's also in the top 5 TV shows in the ratings..So that's real success. Great interview!