Eminem was the first choice for a role that earned Mark Wahlberg an Oscar nomination

Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

We may never see Marshall Bruce Mathers III lead a film again, and in many ways we don’t have to. The controversial, Grammy-winning hip-hop artist has probably proven everything he needs to prove in this department 8 milesand even if the name Eminem the enduring ability to draw crowds, it’s just a difficult task to imagine what the rapper’s theatrical range might be.

However, in an alternate timeline, we might have gotten a better idea of ​​around 2010 than David O. Russell’s The fighter – a biopic about the early career of world welterweight boxing champion Micky Ward – was released in cinemas.

Star and producer Mark Wahlberg brought the fighter to life in the film, which later earned him a Best Picture nomination at the 83rd Academy Awards, but according to producer Todd Lieberman in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, there was some serious early talk about it to cast Eminem in the role of Ward and even revealed that the rapper was their first choice.

“The first person we thought would be in this movie was Eminem. Eminem was supposed to be Mickey Ward.”

He would go on to reveal that the extensive momentum of 8 milesreleased in 2002, was mostly what made the idea possible for both the producers and Eminem himself.

“That was a moment when he got away with it 8 miles, and he was interested in making films, and he wanted to make a boxing film. That was something we explored for a minute. And for a minute there was real life in it.”

Of course, as mentioned earlier, the role ultimately went to Wahlberg, and judging by how competitive the 2011 Academy Awards were (competitive for everyone but that The king’s speechthat is), we doubt the producers look back on this decision with regret.