RZA has been heavily involved in both making music and filmmaking for quite some time now, scoring a number of films like Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Volume 2 before making his directorial debut in 2012 with The Man with the Iron Fists. Recently, the critically acclaimed artist directed the Netflix action heist film Cut Throat City starring Shameilk Moore, Wesley Snipes, Terrence Howard, and T.I.
Despite being alongside seasoned actors, RZA was quite impressed with the "Whatever You Like" hitmakers performance in the film. He notably came under scrutiny on Twitter for portraying a character with vitiligo, although he does not have the skin condition. “He totally shocked me and blew my mind,” RZA admitted in an interview with Alison Kugel before revealing he was a late addition to the cast.
“I had been developing the film for five years, and I always wanted Method Man to play the role of Cousin, but he told me he wasn’t into the bad guy roles right now.” He also praised The Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham for her skills as well, adding she was also added to the project in the later stages of development.
“I got lucky to get Kat,” he confessed about the actress. “We had developed her role for another actress who became unavailable about two weeks before we were shooting. Then our agent said that Kat Graham read the script and was interested, and would I be interested to talk with her? We did a FaceTime and she said exactly what I needed to hear.”
“Kat Graham really shows that it’s not just beauty in her, but it’s her strength and expression,” he raved about her portrayal as the main protagonist’s wife, who stays alongside her man as they engage in criminal activity. See below for the film's trailer.
“I’m glad that she became the anchor of that family, and she did it beautifully,” RZA added. “She could have played it pretty and sexy. Even though she was beautiful on screen, it was natural. She was strong to go and fight for her man.”
In recent weeks, T.I. and his wife's name have been attached to numerous sexual abuse and trafficking allegations, all of which they have vehemently denied.
[via]
