Rapper 50 Cent isn't taking anybody to the gun show these days.
Known for bulging biceps, pumped up pecs and six-pack abs, the artist whose real name is Curtis Jackson has lost 54 pounds to play a cancer-stricken college football player in a movie he co-wrote. The dramatic drop took Fiddy from a diesel 214 pounds down to an emaciated 160, rendering him barely recognizable to even his most ardent fans.
"I was starving," the rapper told MTV.com. He said he lost the weight over nine weeks by consuming an all-liquid diet and walking for up to three hours a day on a treadmill.
"Man, he has the three Ds: desire, determination and direction," fellow rapper Tony Yayo marveled to MTV.com.
The movie, "Things Fall Apart," was inspired by a friend of Jackson's who died of cancer. The movie is being directed by Mario Van Peebles and will co-star Ray Liotta, in the role of a doctor, according to fusedfilm.com. No release date has been announced, though shooting is underway in Michigan, according to cinematical.com.
The budding actor may have picked up the dedication from working with consummate pros like Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino in the 2007 film "Righteous Kill."
"It was definitely cool just being around them, away from actually performing on camera," 50 gushed at the time. "De Niro, I've been to his house, met his wife. We've been to the firing range a couple times together."
