Still regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his time in terms of pop and related genres of music, the late Prince Rogers Nelson, who went by Prince, was a brilliant singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer – all in one. Besides being a marvelous singer, he was also offered roles in movies, with Bruce Willis’ starrer $263 million cult classic The Fifth Element, for one to count.
However, the late singer somehow refused to star in the box-office blockbuster movie for a rather absurd reason, thus, letting Chris Tucker take over in his stead to give an epic performance that would be remembered for years.
The Stupendously Absurd Reason Behind Prince Rejecting The Fifth Element (1997)
Also Read: Chris Tucker Did Not Want to Do Movies Anymore After Working With Jackie Chan in $245M Movie
Judging from how tremendous of a singer he was, the role of Ruby Rhod in The Fifth Element was perfect for the late Prince. In fact, it was even created keeping the musician in mind, as revealed by Chris Tucker.
“Luc Besson said he wanted a flamboyant character and he wanted like sexuality and all this stuff,” Tucker said. “I thought of Prince. ‘Cause Prince was supposed to play the part.”
However, the pop singer ended up rejecting the role due to a reason that might sound rather absurd to us but might be a genuine one for the late star.
“Declined for some re-I think because of the wardrobe. Because Prince had his own style. And [as] matter of fact, he told me one time in person. He heard I was doing the movie and he’s like, I didn’t wanna do it. I said, Okay, all right. So then I was second choice.”
But despite being the second choice for the movie, Tucker made sure to portray his character in the best possible way, resulting in the Bruce Willis starrer movie becoming a widely loved fan-favorite in terms of cult classics.
Chris Tucker Nailed The Role Instead
With the late Prince refusing to do it, the role of Ruby Rhod instead went to Chris Tucker who absolutely nailed it. A comedian by birth, the Rush Hour star provided the perfect comedic escape in the intensely action-filled movie, with the fans’ favorite part of it all being his ‘outrageous headpieces’ and ‘glittery costumes’. Sharing his experience of how he somehow managed to do it, he said,
“Was definitely different for me but I’m so glad I tackled it and did it. Because man, it brought out, you know, range in me I only used probably on stage. So working with Luc Besson, man, was unbelievable…And man, putting on the outfits and the costumes and all the stuff, man. It just really turned me into the Ruby Rhod character. And I really was able to just really let loose.”
Although Prince rejected it, Tucker managed to save the movie with his spectacular performance playing the talk show host, helping it earn $263 million on a budget of $90 million along with earning it an Oscar nomination among winning and getting nominated for several other awards as well.
You can stream The Fifth Element on Amazon Instant Video.
Source: YouTube | GQ
