Being Ice Cube’s kid wasn’t enough to make O’Shea Jackson Jr. an actor.
During Monday’s (January 13) Sway’s Universe interview, the Den of Thieves 2: Pantera star broke down why having a famous dad didn’t give him an acting pass. The 33-year-old kicked off his career playing his father in 2015’s Straight Outta Compton.
“There’s already a concept and an ideology of what type of person I’m going to be before people even meet me because of how they might have views of my father,” Jackson told Sway.
Jackson said folks assume he’s “entitled” or “not ready to work” before meeting him. “But I come from a family that prides themselves on being ready to work,” he added. “I mean, as a second-generation in any sense or form, you mentally work harder, for sure.”
“You are given blessings that put you in positions that people don’t get at certain points the same way you did. But it is a mental battle that you have to have,” Jackson admitted.
Compared to his dad, Jackson said he doesn’t face an “internal battle” about leaving his lifestyle. But during his second year of college, Cube pushed him to play him in Straight Outta Compton, leading him to drop out.
When Cube told director F. Gary Gray about casting Jackson, Gray first thought it was “a joke.”
“He didn’t tell me during that ’cause [my father] knew that would have just pissed me off,” Jackson shared. “But it’s just little things that I had to use to build my fire. I left school, so it took me two years to get the part for Straight Out of Compton.”
Despite pressure from graduated college friends and dependent family members, Jackson’s role in Straight Outta Compton was a hit, though he waited another year for his next gig.
After online nepotism accusations for playing Cube, Jackson worked with his team to land roles in different genres like Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Ingrid Goes West.
“So it was just constantly showing versatility so they couldn’t put me in the box,” Jackson explained.
He shared similar thoughts with Complex‘s Jacob Kramer last September. “When I did my first film, many tried to downplay my accomplishments by saying it was easy because I played my father,” he said at the time. “So I had a meeting with my team to make sure every role was different from the last. It has led me to an amazing life so far. And it has also allowed me to sharpen my acting blade.”
