turns out Diddy’s Midas touch extends beyond music. The hip-hop mogul told “Inside the Actor’s Studio” host James Lipton, during his pre-taped appearance that aired Tuesday night (May 25), that he predicted Halle Berry would win an Academy Award for “Monster’s Ball” — with his aid.
“I knocked on Halle’s door at a hotel,” Diddy recalled, after his acting coach urged him to jet across the country to claim his role in the movie. “And she was like, ‘What are you doing here?’ I was like, ‘Give me five minutes. Do you remember when people just looked at you as a pretty face? Remember in “Strictly Business” and no one would give you chance? I know you may think that I’m gonna be polarizing, that I’m gonna take your shot to win a Oscar.’ But I said, ‘I’m gonna help you win an Oscar. I’m gonna be believable.’ I said, ‘Give me a chance.’ ”
Berry, of course, did go on to earn an Oscar for her portrayal of Leticia Torres, an embattled wife whose husband was executed by her new lover, a fact she learned after their hookup. Diddy joked that with Berry’s win and later Phylicia Rashad’s Tony win for “A Raisin in the Sun,” he has a recruiting pitch for his future co-stars. “You’ll always win,” he said.
Throughout his conversation with Lipton, Diddy was engaging, jovial and displayed a restrained charisma. The producer/rapper-turned-actor had the support of his mother, Janice Combs, and his son, Justin Combs, who were seated in the audience, along with a number of aspiring actors, writers and directors. Diddy took questions from the crowd and told the students to never take no for an answer, citing the encouragement from his acting coach, Susan Batson.
Diddy appeared on the show to help promote his latest film, “Get Him to the Greek.” In the movie, Diddy plays an over-the-top record executive — he told Lipton his character, Sergio, was only mildly similar to himself — that has been earning rave reviews from his co-stars, including Jonah Hill.
“I think Diddy’s going to really shock people,” Hill told MTV News earlier this year. “We were saying Diddy’s kind of the McLovin of ‘Get Him to the Greek.’ You don’t know what he’s going to do. Every time he breathes in the movie, it garners a huge laugh.”
