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He’s a member of The Black Eyed Peas, an internationally known recording superstar heard and beloved by millions. All fine and good - but you ain’t never heard will.i.am sing like this.
“Root-a-toot-toot! I’m doing ‘Wolverine’!” the singer crooned exclusively to MTV News in his first interview about the high-profile “X-Men” prequel. “That’s cool! I don’t mean to toot my own flute, but toot-a-toot-toot!”
It’s all smiles these days for will.i.am with the recent news that he nabbed the part of John Wraith, a teleporting mutant also known as Kestrel, in the eagerly anticipated superhero flick. Not bad for a guy with zero acting experience, especially considering he didn’t exactly get off on the right foot with the casting director, he laughed. Bold, sure, but that’s just how much of a fan he is of “X-Men.”
“You don’t understand, check this out, this is how much of a fan I am. I went to the casting right, and they asked me if I knew about X-Men. I was like, ‘Pssh, I know X-Men.’ They were like, ‘Yeah, you know, you’re gonna play a teleporter.’ And I was like, ‘You mean like Night Crawler?’ ‘Night Crawler wasn’t a teleporter.’ ‘Yes he was a teleporter! The dude was a teleporter!” he recalled, giggling. “He would be on the walls, and he was in the Presidential office disappearing and people couldn’t really hit him. He was like, disappearing, poof poof. I was like, ‘Yo, I’m telling you, homey.’ I’m a fan of X-Men.”
But as much as he’s excited about entering a comic book world, he’s even more excited to be doing it as a black man, he said.
“I love black films, I love ‘em, but I want to see other black films other than, like, barbeques, barber shops, and Fridays. The fact that I’m in this film, that’s super dope because you could’ve had me in a film, like, on a corner,” he insisted. “I’m in a rap group. Cast him and have him play this thug, which is all great. But I’m saying as black people we need to do some other stuff. So I’m super, super, super, super blessed and proud to be a part of ‘Wolverine.’”
As a member of Wolverine’s “top secret” CIA black ops “Team X,” will.I.am knows he has to hold his own alongside buff guys like Hugh Jackman. To that end, he left for Australia last night to “get in shape at boot camp” he said.
In the meantime? Just call him “Thrill.I.Am!” the actor sang.
Well, root-a-toot-toot!
What do you think of will.i.am’s casting in “Wolverine”? Are you more or less excited for the project now that we know a large portion will center on Team X? Sound off below.
