Although best known for his work as a hip-hop artist, Tip “T.I.” Harris knows the value of versatility.
Since launching his rap career more than a decade ago, Harris has become a music producer, record executive, fashion entrepreneur and, perhaps most importantly to him, an actor.
That’s what makes Harris so passionate about Takers, a crime thriller that allows the Atlanta native to showcase talents other than those that have generated millions of album sales.
“What I’m trying to do right now is have another fan base,” Harris said during a recent promotional stop in Dallas. “Now I have to broaden my horizons, so I’m not just confined to that one demographic. [Otherwise,] I could never live up to my full potential.”
Harris, 29, hopes the film allows him to gain the type of credibility in the acting world that he has achieved in the music world, where he has earned the nickname “King of the South” and won two Grammy awards in 2006.
In Takers, Harris is part of a gang of upscale bank robbers (which puts him in an ensemble that includes Paul Walker, Idris Elba, Chris Brown and Hayden Christensen) being chased by a hardened detective (Matt Dillon) intent on bringing the elusive high-tech crooks to justice.
The film has plenty of glitz and glamour, with sleek cars and cool clothes on display. Those are nice perks, but Harris said he was attracted to the material more for the layering of the characters in the screenplay.
“It’s not your average kind of shoot-em-up, bang-bang, cops-and-robbers heist flick,” Harris said. “It actually has depth and meaning. Each and every last character has their own energy to add, and I believe that makes for a very intellectually entertaining ride.”
Harris said that behind the shootouts and chase sequences, he was struck by the dynamics between the characters among both gangsters and police officers, whether it’s the protective instincts that criminal brothers share for one another or the uneasy bond between a workaholic cop and his young daughter.
“It’s not just about robbing banks. These are actual people,” Harris said. “When you cut the news on and hear that two men robbed a bank, they aren’t just bank robbers. They’re someone’s son, someone’s uncle or brother or father. Everybody has something they’ve got to deal with.”
Harris cites his own character as a prime example. Ghost is released from prison as the film opens, then proceeds to reunite with his old criminal friends for one last heist that could earn him enough money to start a new life. However, the rest of the gang suspects him of having ulterior motives and questions his loyalty.
“That’s the challenge in taking such a complex character,” Harris said. “You have every reason to not trust and not like him. I needed to find a way to make this character likeable and to have the audience empathize with him.”
Harris, who previously starred in the coming-of-age drama ATL and had a supporting role in American Gangster, was approached by the producers for the lead in Takers. He became enamored with the project and offered some feedback, eventually taking on the role of executive producer.
“It shows range,” said Harris, who filmed the movie before a recent 10-month stint in prison on federal weapons charges. “Even though it’s an urban outlaw, ex-con type of character — which some might look and say that’s not much of a stretch for me — this guy has a lot of charisma and a lot of ambition. He’s very strategic in his approach.
“Even if I do a gangster picture, I’m gonna do an intellectually stimulating gangster picture,” he said. “It’s fly; it’s not grimy. It’s cool and it’s shiny.”
Harris said that although Takers doesn’t glamorize bank robbers, it does showcase a more modern breed of gangster — one that steals to maintain affluence and superficial status rather than doing so just to survive.
“You fall in love with the lifestyle of these characters,” he said. “You never imagine people doing things so wrong and living life so great. We are living vicariously through these characters that the normal person can’t fathom. It takes you on a wild ride.”
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