Barack Obama Says Drake Has His Presidential 'Stamp of Approval' To Play Him In Theoretical Biopic
Well, folks, it seems like Drake portraying Barack Obama on the big screen may be a part of "God's Plan" after all -- er, well, Obama's wish, that is. Last week, the former President sat down for a 56-minute interview with Complex, where he told Speedy Morman about his new memoir, the state of the Democratic party, and why he thinks Aubrey Drake Graham should bring him to life on screen.
"I will say this, Drake seems to be able to do anything he wants. I mean, that is a talented, talented brother. So if the time comes and he's ready ... " President Obama said of the Toronto-born actor and musician. Another reason behind this theoretical casting? Sasha and Malia would be pumped. "Drake has, more importantly, I think, my household's stamp of approval. I suspect Malia and Sasha would be just fine with it." Same.
The former first daughters aren't the only ones likely excited about the notion of Drizzy portraying their father -- a decade ago, the musician gushed about the prospects of playing then-President Obama, saying he had even gone as far to practice the president's famous cadence. "I hope somebody makes a movie about Obama's life soon because I could play him," Drake said during a 2010 interview with Paper Magazine. Although several actors have brought the former POTUS to life on screen, including Jay Pharoah and Fred Armisen on Saturday Night Live, Jordan Peele on Key and Peele, and Kingsley Ben-Adir in The Comey Rule, there has yet to be a full-length feature film centering on 44's life story. When the time comes, which might be soon following the release of A Promised Land, a.k.a arguably the most anticipated memoir of the year, the rapper and former Degrassi star says he already has a head start in prepping for the role, telling the magazine he made a point of closely observing Obama's mannerisms during TV appearances in his first term.
"I watch all the addresses," said the artist, who once famously name-dropped the politician in his hit single, "Summer Sixteen." "Anytime I see him on TV, I don't change the channel, I definitely pay attention and listen to the inflections of his voice. If you ask anyone who knows me, I’m pretty good at impressions. Slowly but surely, I'm not in the study mode because nobody's called me about anything, but I just pay attention so when the day comes I'm not scrambling to learn how to speak like him."
Although Drake has yet to respond to POTUS' approving words (trust me, I've refreshed his Twitter and Instagram feeds like 100 times as I've been writing this), let's hope he answers the phone when some studio exec makes the rapper's "Hotline Bling" with a request to star in the official Obama biopic. After all, if we can make a damn Ratatouille musical via TikTok, we can easily make Drake the star of an Obama biopic. Hollywood, do your thing.
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