From left to right, Ludacris is shown with fellow cast members Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard, and Larenz Tate of the film Crash. They are holding their trophies for Outstanding Performance by a Cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Ludacris didn’t have to do a whole lot of acting when he landed his first big movie role in 2 Fast 2 Furious. The character he plays, Tej Parker, is a wisecracking funny guy who brings some comic relief to a movie filled with intense car chases.
Hmm, funny guy? Yep, that sounds like Ludacris. He sort of just acts like himself in the film. But he was so good in the 2003 movie that he was invited to audition for a big Hollywood film about racism in America called Crash. The entire movie takes place over a thirty-six-hour period in which several stories intertwine.
He had long admired actor Don Cheadle and was thrilled to see that Cheadle was one of the producers on the film.
“I went for an audition for Crash and next thing I knew, I had it,” Ludacris told MTV during an interview.
Playing a thief in the movie Crash, Ludacris had to really do some acting. It was the first time in his life he would have to say things he didn’t personally believe in and act in a way that wasn’t him. That’s why they call it acting.
He was very good in the film, which went on to be a smash hit. It won an Academy Award, known as the Oscar, for best film of the year! When he arrived on the set, Ludacris said it was a little intimidating to see so many great actors like Sandra Bullock, Don Cheadle, and Matt Dillon. He decided the only way for this to work would be to act like a student and try to learn everything he could about acting from the others.
One of his fellow actors, perhaps seeing that he was nervous, gave him some good advice. He told Ludacris to just be himself and have fun with the role. Ludacris said that he knew the film was going to be something special while he was working on it, but he was amazed when he sat in the theater and saw the finished product for the first time.
“It feels great to be in an Oscar winning movie,” he told MTV. “I definitely knew I was going to get one eventually. I just didn’t think it would happen this soon in my life.”
He also was awarded a Critic’s Choice Award.
After his performance in Crash, the acting offers started rolling in. Everyone wanted his acting, voice, or face to be part of their program. Pretty soon he was on television shows like The Simpsons and Law & Order, and even as a voice on video games like Madden football.
From left to right, Ludacris is shown with fellow cast members Matt Dillon, Don Cheadle, Terrence Howard, and Larenz Tate of the film Crash. They are holding their trophies for Outstanding Performance by a Cast at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Ludacris and his foundation have given back to the community in a number of ways. This includes partnering with Nissan to give away twenty cars to selected families in the Atlanta area.
But he also kept popping up on the big screen. He played the funny, music-loving elf DJ Donnie in Fred Claus. He played Brendan in the romantic holiday movie New Year’s Eve, and the character Skinny Black in Hustle & Flow.
And, of course, he continued appearing as Tej Parker in the Fast and Furious movies.
Most successful musical artists who then went on to become award-winning actors would barely have time for anything else. But Ludacris is different. In addition to being a music star and acting star, he found enough time to help others in need.
He started the Ludacris Foundation early in his career. The foundation’s goal is to inspire middle-school aged children to be the best they can be by using the arts and music. Black Enterprise magazine named the Ludacris Foundation as one of the Top 20 Leading Philanthropy Foundations.
The foundation stresses leadership, education, and living a healthy lifestyle. Ludacris and his foundation have helped thousands of at-risk kids over the years.
In 2011 he also got involved with the organization Dosomething.org to help buy books to fill the libraries of New Orleans, Louisiana. Many of the libraries in New Orleans were damaged following the flooding brought on by Hurricane Katrina.
He was also recently honored for his work in raising awareness for diabetes. He has also lent his name, his time, his music, and his efforts to the following charities: Artists for Peace and Justice; Charity Folks; Common Ground Foundation; Get Schooled Foundation; Grammy Foundation; Live Earth; MusiCares; The Black Eyed Peas Foundation; and Thorn.
Around Thanksgiving every year, Ludacris teams up with his foundation and some area restaurants to serve holiday meals to the homeless. They also give out thousands of turkeys to the community.
According to a Web site that keeps track of which celebrities are most charitable, Ludacris was listed as being involved with eleven charities and helping nearly twenty causes.
While all this is going on, Ludacris is well aware that what made him famous was his rapping. Even while he was making movies and handing out turkeys, he was also in the recording studio working on his latest record.