Since the release of his MTV show, "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle," Snoop Dogg has been working to make a name for himself outside the music industry. After his cameo in "Old School," Snoop is back at it again with his role as Huggy Bear in the newly-released "Starsky and Hutch." In the film, Starsky (Ben Stiller) and Hutch (Owen Wilson) play two streetwise cops who bust criminals with the help of their police snitch Huggy Bear (Snoop). Snoop took a few minutes out of his schedule to share his experiences making the film.\nEDITOR'S NOTE: This interview was conducted through a conference call that included questions from multiple people, as well as Weekend writer Jenny Sung.
Q:I've noticed you really making a name for yourself with tough and respected roles. You usually don't play the compassionate sort of characters. I was wondering what type of preparation you put into playing the characters and how much of the real you is seen on the screen? \nA:When I go into a role, I like to do a lot of in-depth searching on the character to make sure that I can bring this character completely to life. And when I play a character, I like to lose Snoop Dogg to where you don't believe that it's me -- to where you believe that I'm an actor up there. That's the hardest part -- just transforming into that character. But for the most part its fun. I'm going to do it, so keep checking for me.
Q:Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller and Will Ferrell are all a bunch of comedians that have this "Rat Pack" thing going on, where they always work on each other's stuff. With the cameo in "Old School" and the Huggy Bear part in "Starsky and Hutch," it seems like you're the next member of the team. How do you feel about that and are you looking at any other roles where these guys are playing in the movie as well?\nA:I just like working with good people. I know those guys are good guys and they're fun to work with and they make my job easy. So if I can add something to the table, I'm loving it. I'm hoping for another role in another picture that they're working on. I'll be Sammy Davis.
Q:Because "Starsky and Hutch" is based on a TV show, how much of the original did you watch and how loyal did you try to stay to the actual character of Huggy Bear?\nA:I remember watching it as a kid, but I had to refresh my memory by going and getting a couple episodes. I wanted Huggy to be a little bit different than he was on the TV show just to add a little more dimension to him, so they allowed me to, and I did that.
Q:Did you talk with Antonio Fargas about how he played Huggy Bear?\nA:Yeah, I just spoke with him about 10-15 minutes ago about going to London to go to the premier and he was totally pleased about how I played the part.
Q:Were you able to alter lines and improvise to help develop a more modern-day Huggy Bear?\nA:I really wanted to keep the lines '75, because that's when the movie was shot. So, I didn't want to put no -izzles or none of that on there. I wanted to keep it all '75, slip-n-slide, to where it would be very believable.
Q:I know that you've worked with Todd Phillips before on "Old School." I was just wondering if you had to audition for the role for this part, in which you play an actual character instead of yourself? \nA:Well, I didn't have to audition. I just had to show him that I was strong enough to carry that role, because they wanted Huggy to be such a strong character and have nice lines and you know, be a real important factor to the movie. He just wanted to see that I could handle it, and once he saw that I could, it was no problem from there on out.
Q:I know that your mom used to play you records when you were younger, and that got you interested in music. Was there something like that with movies, or was there something that peaked your attention as you got older?\nA:When I was young, my mom played music on the eight-track player, and she used to always take us to the drive-in or the walk-in theater to go see those '70s black exploitation movies. I would always love to see the players, to see The Mack, Superfly, Shaft and all those characters on the big screen. It really made me dream that I could be one of those guys.
Q:Who are your influences in terms of comedy acting?\nA:Richard Pryor is definitely my influence. I love everything about Richard Pryor -- about how he used to do the movies he made. I'd like to do it like him at some point in time, you know?
Q:I really liked your small but very cool part in "Training Day" where you played a more dramatic role. Are there more dramatic parts in your near future?\nA:Oh yeah, like I said I'm just trying to do everything. I just wanted to show the world that I could do drama as well as comedy. Now I'm just ready to get one of those roles that's going to take me to the next level -- that's really stretched out where I have to dig into myself and find the right piece to bring the character to life.
Q:What part of the film was the most difficult to shoot for you?\nA:When the villain had to slap me. I think that was the most difficult part for Snoop, because I ain't used to getting hit without a quick reaction.
Q:Is Huggy Bear going solo and what is he going to do?\nA:I do think that Huggy needs to spin off and do his own thing, but we'll eventually wait for it to grow and see what he does. We'll see what happens in the box office and we'll take it from there.
Q:Snoop, what's the hardest part about being a true playa?\nA:Telling certain women no.
