Why Brandon T. Jackson Got Kicked Off the Set of ‘8 Mile’

Brandon T. Jackson first started rising in the ranks after appearing in the 2005 dramedy Roll Bounce. He followed that up with a memorable part in 2008’s Tropic Thunder, playing Alpa Chino, a popular rapper trying to make a name for himself in the acting world. But years before Jackson found success as an actor in real life, he worked as an extra on some other pretty big movies. According to IMDb, his earliest film credits include the 2001 Muhammad Ali biopic Ali (starring Will Smith) and Michael Moore’s 2002 documentary Bowling for Columbine.

Oh, and then there’s this little movie called 8 Mile, featuring rap legend Eminem. Don’t remember seeing Jackson in there at any point, do you? That’s not surprising, considering that he wasn’t able to spot himself either when he eventually got around to watching the film. The reason for this, it turns out, is Jackson didn’t actually make it into the final cut; a friend of his, who was standing right next to him while they were filming, did, however—much to Jackson’s chagrin.

Brandon T. Jackson Once Tried and Failed to Meet Eminem on the ‘8 Mile’ Set

As the actor explained during a recent interview with The Art of Dialogue, he was in the audience for the movie’s famous battle sequences and was also present for the club scene in which Eminem’s character, Jimmy (a.k.a. B-Rabbit), meets Alex (as played by Brittany Murphy). But despite having skipped school to be a part of the production, he didn’t even get to interact with Eminem in the process. That didn’t stop his buddy from telling people they did, though. “I never really met Eminem. I saw him a lot, but never really met him,” Jackson joked.

That wasn’t for a lack of trying, mind you. Jackson went on to reveal that he unsuccessfully tried to approach Eminem on the set to hand him his comedy mixtape, but was quickly given the boot by security. At the time, Jackson was a stand-up comedian and had done radio in Detroit, though his credentials apparently weren’t substantial enough to get him through to the multi-platinum-selling rapper. You can listen to Jackson recount the story for yourself in the video below.