Oscar winning writer John Ridley has praised Andre 3000's commitment to playing Jimi Hendrix in the upcoming biopic Jimi: All Is By My Side.
Ridley, who adapted 12 Years a Slave, told Rolling Stone that he got really lucky with Andre 3000's casting in the movie, which was partially shot in Dublin: "I got a musician who can act and an actor who could play. Andre is just a unique talent, and part of that talent that you see also came from a lot of hard work.
"The first time I met him, he had a curiosity about the world that was equal to what I believe Jimi's curiosity about music and the world was at that time in his life. He's got the physicality, he's got the emotional curiosity, he's got the charisma – so, to a degree, he's already there."
He continued: "Andrew came out to LA in January of 2012 and worked with me through April on all aspects of Jimi, from watching video of him to working with a vocal coach to getting as slim and slender as Jimi was at that time period. He didn't work on playing the guitar, but playing the guitar left-handed.
"That's four months of Oscar-level work as an actor, then another month of working with the actors in Dublin, and then another month and a half of shooting.
"That's about seven and a half months of work. He gave that performance because he wanted it. It was never going to be a Vegas lounge act. It was always going to be about getting to an emotional honesty with his character, and I cannot say enough about what Andre did."
