“It’s very easy to turn this into a trainwreck,” the rapper said in an interview with BuzzFeed News. “But I feel like when you have the right pieces in place … then you go from being cliché-ish to being the exception.”

Rap star T.I. as Russell, a former convict who is a cousin to Kevin Hart's character in Get Hard

Warner Bros. Pictures

T.I. can't help but chuckle and offer a knowing head nod when talking about his character in the new comedy Get Hard.

After serving twice in a county jail for probation violations and after being incarcerated for in 2010 for a highly publicized U.S. federal weapons charge, the rapper-turned-actor is playing Russell, a gang-banger and former convict from Crenshaw Heights who helps prepare a wealthy white businessman for life behind bars.

"I think I served somewhat as a consultant," T.I. said with a smirk in a recent interview with BuzzFeed News about his role both on and off screen. "A consultant to the consultant."

Get Hard centers on James King (Will Ferrell), a wealthy hedge-fund manager who's looking at 10 years in San Quentin for a white collar crime he insists he didn't commit. So, James hires Darnell (Kevin Hart), who runs the car wash service at James' office, as his prison consultant, presuming that, because he's black, odds are good that he's been locked up at some point in his life. And though Darnell has not in fact been to jail, his cousin Russell has.

Warner Bros.

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