André 3000 stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in late January, during which he taped a “Colbert Questionert” segment that didn’t air until Thursday night (February 8th). During the series of questions, the rapper-turned-flutist revealed some interesting tidbits, including how he nearly joined the Fast and Furious family and once killed an ant farm.
After André couldn’t come up with a favorite action movie, Colbert probed him on why he hasn’t been in a Fast and Furious film, saying, “I could see you driving a fast car, off a cliff or something into a boat.”
In response, André said that he actually auditioned for the franchise, but another Atlanta rapper took his spot. “I would have, but I think Ludacris took the role,” he explained. “I actually tried out. I tried out for Fast and Furious and Ludacris actually took the role.”
However, André isn’t angry “at all” about the missed opportunity. “I wasn’t ready,” he said. “I remember that audition. I was so nervous, man, like I wouldn’t have hired me.”
Watch André 3000’s full “Colbert Questionert” segment below.
Ludacris first appeared as Tej Parker in 2003’s 2 Fast 2 Furious. At the time, André was still getting started with his acting career, but he’s since gone on to roles in Four Brothers, Semi-Pro, and Jimi: All Is by My Side.
Later on in the segment, André said he’s not a cat or dog person, but that’s probably a good thing considering the brief story of his ant farm. “I’m usually not around. It’s hard for me to take care of things,” he said about not being a pet owner, before going into the story of how he killed a whole bunch of ants.
“I ordered it online,” André recalled. “It comes with ants and the jail in the city that they live in… to calm the ants down before you put them in there, you’re supposed to put them in the refrigerator. They get cold and they calm down and then you can kind of shake them in.”
Instead, André put his ants in the freezer, killing them in the process. “You see, I can’t take care of things,” he admitted. “Sorry man, I don’t like reading instructions. I don’t like instructions.”
While André clearly can’t be counted on to take care of pets, his experimental jazz record, New Blue Sun, landed on our list of 50 best albums of 2023. He’s currently on tour in support, and you can grab tickets here.