Freddie Gibbs has long been a man of many talents, and now, his fans can check him out on Netflix in the critically acclaimed 2021 film Down With The King.
Gibbs took to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday (January 18), to reveal that his flick had found a home at the streaming giant in a post that was short and to the point.
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Directed by Diego Ongaro, DWTK finds Gibbs starring as a rapper in the role of Money Merc, who heads to a rural community in Berkshires, Massachusetts to record his next album. While searching for new inspiration, Merc’s turns his attention to farming thanks to a friendship with his neighbor
Loving his new lifestyle, Merc then abruptly announces his retirement from the rap game before his manager tries to get him to have a change of heart.
Last year, The New York Times praised his acting performance in Diego Ongaro’s film, which depicts a disillusioned rapper leaving the music industry to run a farm.
In an article published by the outlet titled “And The 2023 Oscar Nominees Should Be …” the paper’s culture critics Manohla Dargis and A.O. Scott went through each Oscar category and selected those they felt were snubbed out of a proper nomination.
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On their list for Best Actor was Freddie Gibbs alongside Daniel Kaluuya, Jafar Panahi, Franz Rogowski and Viggo Mortensen, which blew the Gary, Indiana rapper away.
“Bruhhh,” he wrote on Twitter alongside a head-exploding emoji.
Down With The King was released on June 28, 2022, after having been screened at several festivals, including the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in France.
Gibbs told Desus & Mero that once he was cast in the role, which was his first acting role ever, he began revisiting the work of some of his favorite Hollywood actors.
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“I really been studying cats like Samuel L. Jackson — that’s my favorite actor of all time, period,” he said. “So I just been looking at some stuff and tryna figure my way out and some things I wanna do, and like I said, really studying and writing and starting to get a vibe for it.”
In a separate interview with Complex, Ongaro said he worked closely with the Alfredo rapper to make sure the character fit him like a glove.
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“Freddie Gibbs and I worked intimately together to craft Mercury’s character and backstory; some of it pulled from Freddie’s experiences and values, much of it invented,” Ongaro said. “It was an absolute thrill working with someone as sharp and multi-talented as Freddie in this collaborative way.”
