Obama Gives His Blessing for Drake to Play Him in a Movie

We think of him primarily as a musician these days (despite his years starring on Degrassi), but Drake has spoken publicly in the past about his desire to take on a serious acting role portraying Barack Obama in a biopic. And in a new interview with Complex News, the former president gave the idea his blessing.

“I will say this. Drake seems to be able to do anything he wants,” Obama responded when asked if he’d like to see the Canadian rapper play him in a movie. “That is a talented, talented brother. So if the time comes and he’s ready, you know … You know what, Drake has — more importantly, I think — my household’s stamp of approval. I suspect Malia and Sasha would be just fine with it.”

Drake first raised the idea of playing Obama back in a 2010 interview with Paper magazine, saying, “I hope somebody makes a movie about Obama’s life soon because I could play him. That’s the goal. I watch all the addresses. Anytime I see him on TV, I don’t change the channel, I definitely pay attention and listen to the inflections of his voice. If you ask anyone who knows me, I’m pretty good at impressions … I just pay attention so when the day comes I’m not scrambling to learn how to speak like him.”

You can watch Obama react to the idea of Drake playing him at the 46:25 mark below.