Ice Cube made his directorial debut in 1998 with the cult classic film The Player’s Club. The film had an all-star cast, including Jamie Foxx, Terrance Howard, Bernie Mac, Faizon Love, Charlie Murphy and more. However, there was one actress who is speaking out against the film.
On Tuesday (January 25), Page Six put out an exclusive interview with LisaRaye McCoy, who played the lead role of Diamond, a stripper in the film. The breakout role put LisaRaye on to other opportunities as fans saw her star in several movies such as The Wood, Beauty Shop and more. According to the 54-year-old, the film helped her career but caused her to question the fine line between reality and fiction.
“I had an identity crisis after Players Club because I felt like I had to have the long hair and look like my character, Diamond, in order to be recognized,” she told Page Six.
She added, “Player’s Club put me on the map… it made me a bona fide sex symbol, and when you are a sex symbol, people think that you’re sexy all the time, and that stigma follows you. So I am forever Diamond.”
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Ice Cube played a major role in helping LisaRaye adjust to her role in the film by being as supportive as he could be. LisaRaye spoke about how beneficial Ice Cube was to her crushing the role.
“He was so professional. I didn’t even see the rapper then,” she said. “I saw the father, the businessman, the director. He was gracious enough to set up multiple cameras, and I did the strip scene maybe twice. So he allowed me to what I needed for a green new actress.”
Ice Cube Credits ‘Are We There Yet?’ For Making Him Likeable To Mainstream America
Ice Cube wrote and directed The Player’s Club with a budget of $5 million. The film went on to bring in over $23 million in theaters and although he didn’t direct any more films, he added several producer credits to his résumé.
