Kanye West asked Danny McBride to play him in a movie
The Eastbound & Down actor discussed Kanye’s pitch on Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Danny McBride, the comedian behind the cult classics Eastbound & Down and Vice Principals, was a guest on Wednesday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!. At about 4:40 into the discussion, McBride revealed that he was visited at his home in Charleston, South Carolina by Kanye West, who asked McBride to take the role of Kanye West in a biopic.
McBride said that he received a phone call from West out of the blue one day. "He said he was a fan of mine and wanted to hang out," McBride says. “He had an idea for a project, which I think is a pretty brilliant idea. He wanted to do a movie about the story of his life, and he wanted me to play him... I thought it was a cool enough idea to be like, ‘Yeah, I’d love to hang out and talk about it.’ So, he came down [to Charleston]. We hung out, went out on a boat, and just talked. He was awesome.”
After the meeting, McBride and West were approached by McBride's son. "He was just standing there waiting for us. And he's like 'Papa, do you think Kanye West wants to watch me play Fortnight?' And I'm just like [to Kanye] 'Do you want to watch him play Fortnight? And [kanye's] like 'Yeah.' And then we just sat there and watched my son play Fortnight. And then he flew home."
Will the project actually go into production? McBride is a little more cagey about that. "If [his new show The Righteous Gemstones] doesn't go well, maybe next." It's unknown whether or not the project is related to Omniverse, a Showtime limited series executive produced by West, and starring Jaden Smith as a young Kanye.
Thumbnail photos by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for SXSW / Oliver Contreras - Pool/Getty Images