Method Man Turned Down a Bad Guy Role in ‘Girls Trip’ But Shines In ‘Power Book II: Ghost’
Method Man’s performance as a defense attorney in Power Book II: Ghost is garnering much praise from critics and fans. The rapper turned actor is mostly known for comedy but is impressing many in a drama series.
Interestingly, he passed up a role in Girls Trip not only because he wanted versatility, but also because he couldn’t relate to the bad guy character. Still, his character in Power has some bad guy qualities.
Method Man was supposed to star as Stewart Pierce in ‘Girls Trip’
The Staten Island-born rapper has been working on expanding his acting resume. He had the opportunity to star in Girls Trip. Method Man was set to play the role of Stewart Pierce, the cheating husband of a successful author and businesswoman, Ryan Pierce.
Related: Why Method Man Originally Didn’t Want to Do ‘You’re All I Need’ With Mary J. Blige
Method Man’s leading lady would have been Regina Hall. Though the star-studded cast was appealing to Method Man, once he read the script and delved into Stewart’s story, he decided to pass. He explained his decision on Jemele Hill’s podcast, Jemele Hill Unbothered.
“I was supposed to be that a** hole guy” he said. “So when I read the script, I was like I feel like I’ve gotta take a shower. It was like I couldn’t relate to the guy. I like characters, I feel like I can hang out with…But this dude was like, ugh. I didn’t like him. I’m sorry, I just didn’t like him.”
The role of Stewart Pierce instead went to Mike Colter
Colter went on to star as Stewart. Unlike Method Man, Colter was excited to play branch out and play the bad guy, especially since he’s known for playing nice guys or superheroes in other projects, including Luke Cage.
“I’m always looking for something different. I’m not always thinking about what it means or the perception,” he told Collider in 2017. “I don’t look at the character like he’s bad, or anything like that. I’m not judging him. I’m trying to figure out how he gets in the situation that he’s in and make sense of it all. This is just something that’s happened. It’s not all his fault. In his mind, I don’t think he understands that it’s wrong. He doesn’t look at it from the same point of view as the audience, so that’s how I try to view him.”
Colter admits he was nervous about fans’ reaction to his character in the film but says that the emotional feelings from viewers solidified that he did his best work.
Method Man shines in ‘Power Book II: Ghost’
Method Man may have passed on Girls Trip but he made the right decision in choosing to appear in the Starz spinoff series Power Book II: Ghost.
Related: How Many ‘Power’ Spinoffs Are There?
He plays defense attorney Davis MacLean, the representative for Tasha St. Patrick in the murder trial of her husband. Initially, MacLean doesn’t want the case, but St. Patrick’s son Tariq forces his decision to defend his mom by announcing such. The opportunity serves as a stepping stone for McLean.
The rapper says he used his own real-life courtroom experiences to inform his portrayal, telling Vulture, “Whenever I was in the courtroom, I would look at the lawyers and the public defenders and the people that are just there, pro bono guys or whatever, and I would look at their shoes,” a reference to McLean’s eventual discovery that the St. Patrick’s are involved in shady business.
