Spike Lee cast A$AP Rocky in his new movie after seeing a meme on Instagram which compared him to Denzel Washington.
The director hired the rapper to star in his new film 'Highest 2 Lowest' alongside the Oscar-winning actor and he's revealed he initially thought about the music star for the role after seeing social media posts which joked he could be Washington's son.
Lee told the '7PM in Brooklyn' podcast: "What’s funny is that I was looking at Instagram four or five years ago and people were saying that A$AP looked like he’s Denzel’s son. I seen those memes and then in the film we used that.
"A$AP, man, he fire,. I mean, there’s some scenes where him and D [Washington} head to head – he ain’t backing up. Like: 'I’m here too.' So very, very happy with the way the film turned out and looking forward to sharing it with the world."
A$AP Rocky made his screen debut in 2015 film 'Dope' and was recently seen in 'If I Had Legs I’d Kick You', which hit cinemas in January.
'Highest 2 Lowest' is a new interpretation of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 Japanese film 'High and Low' and it's due to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in France in May.
The original told the story of the wealthy head of a show company who is drawn into a terrifying crime when his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped by mistake and held for ransom.
In Lee's movie, Washington plays a music mogul who is targeted in a ransom plot.
The director previously insisted his film is not a remake of the 1963 movie, telling Deadline.com: "This is not a remake, this is a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s great film.
"In Kurosawa’s film, Toshiro Mifune is a shoemaker. In our film Denzel Washington is a music mogul with his own label and his reputation as the best ears in the business. So, this is the fifth film with the dynamic duo [himself and Washington]."
'Highest 2 Lowest' is Lee's fifth film with Washington. They previously worked together on 'Mo’ Better Blues', 'Malcolm X', 'He Got Game' and 'Inside Man'.
