Why Is Ice-T Personally Thanking Dick Wolf?
Long before Ice-T entered the "Law & Order" universe, he got his acting break, and it happened in the most unlikely of places. The rapper was using the toilet at a club when a person started to talk trash to him. "I'm in this stall, right? And someone's talking s*** to me," he recalled on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2017. The "I'm Your Pusher" rapper fired back a few aggressive and witty lines at the would-be trash talker. It just so happened that director Mario Van Peebles was in the bathroom to hear the exchange. "He was in there and he said, 'Whoever f***ing said that is the star of the movie,'" Ice-T said. That encounter led to him landing a starring role in the 1991 cult classic "New Jack City."
Years later, Ice-T became a staple on "Law & Order: SVU" as detective Odafin Tutuola. The performer credits the experience with molding him as an actor. "Like being able to act every day? It can't do anything but help so I think of being on SVU is like me going to the Harvard of acting," he told The Knockturnal in 2015.
Playing a detective was a far cry from Ice-T's "Cop Killer" days. The godfather of gangsta rap tries to portray the sort of cop he wants to see on the streets. "It's kinda like, if I was a cop, that's how I'd act," he told Vice in 2013. Over time, Ice-T has felt indebted to the man behind "Law & Order."
Ice-T knows where his bread is buttered
To commemorate the birthday of the creator of the "Law & Order" universe, Ice-T posted a special shout out to Dick Wolf on Twitter. Ice-T thanked the famed producer for taking a shot on him early in his acting career. "I'd like to personally thank Dick Wolf @wolfentertainment for Fn with me and giving me a guest spot on NewYorkUndercover back when I was public enemy #1," the rapper wrote. "The Country was trying to Blackball me, and nobody would touch me," Ice-T added. Years before Ice-T signed on as detective Odafin Tutuola on "Law & Order: SVU," he was hired by Wolf to work on "New York Undercover" in 1995.
Wolf enjoyed the raw presence that Ice-T brought to the screen. "I cast Ice on 'New York Undercover' 25 years ago, and I was very impressed by his authenticity as an actor," Wolf said about Ice-T, per NBC. In fact, Wolf was effusive when discussing his long-time collaborator. "Ice is the consummate professional, his work ethic is unimpeachable and he has grown exponentially as an actor," he said.
As evidenced by the birthday tweet, Ice-T is similarly complimentary when discussing Wolf. "The man matches up to his name," he told Vice in 2013. "He looks like he'd sit at the head of a table at a mob meeting or something," the "Colors" artist added. He also joked, "Dick Wolf has bought me a lot of cars, paid for a lot of vacations." Ha! You got to appreciate the honesty.