Nick Cannon to Play 'Freeway' Rick Ross in Biopic

Nick Cannon will portray former drug kingpin “Freeway” Rick Ross in an upcoming film.

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Cannon appeared alongside Ross in a YouTube video posted to Ross’ Facebook page Monday to announce the movie. Nick Cassavetes (Alpha Dog, Blow) wrote the script and will direct.

“I've been wanting him to play my role since '96,” Ross said of Cannon in the video. “We got hooked up, I met him … I loved his personality.”

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Added Cannon: “This is history in the making right here. We family now. We gonna get this thing right however long it take. The story gotta be told: the real Rick Ross.”

The brief video offers little other information regarding the planned film but does note in a caption that the script will be penned by the “writer of Blow” (Cassavetes did indeed co-write the screenplay for the 2001 Johnny Depp starrer) and includes the following description: “This is more than a movie it’s a movement. This is the story of the real Scarface.”

It's unclear whether the biopic has secured financing. Cannon will also serve as executive producer.

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Ross, who has clashed with Maybach Music head and Miami rapper Rick Ross (real name: William L. Roberts) over use of the moniker for numerous years, gained notoriety as a cocaine trafficker in Los Angeles in the 1980s. He has been interviewed on several programs and documentaries including BET's American Gangster series.

Cannon, whose acting credits include Up All Night, Drumline and Bobby, hosts America's Got Talent. He also creator TV's Wild 'N Out, Short Circuitz and The Nick Cannon Show.

Twitter: @THR