Tyrese Gibson is not interested in carrying the weight of fame.
The 36-year-old entertainer is a successful singer-and-actor, having starred in popular films such as 2007 release Transformers and 2015 hit Furious 7.
But his involvement in Hollywood is not motivated by wanting to become a household name.
“My interest is not to be a movie star, I’m just focused on the arts,” he explained to Film Journal International. “I love it. I got a lot of people that look up to me, and the fact that I have this God-given stage to motivate and inspire people, that’s the biggest gift in the world. It’s something that I don’t take for granted.
“You got people waking up every day saying, ‘How can I be more famous?’ That’s not my interest. Being around the Vin Diesels and the Will Smiths of the world, I don’t want that life. That’s a different level of pressure that I don’t necessarily want to carry.”
Tyrese is currently writing a screenplay about late R&B icon Teddy Pendergrass. Teddy was considered to be a sex icon, but he became a quadriplegic in 1982 after being involved in a car crash.
Tyrese grew close with the Turn Off the Lights singer before he passed in 2010 and the star claims all the juicy details of Teddy’s life is included in the script.
“I know some stuff,” he said. “Teddy Pendergrass and Marvin Gaye were archenemies. Teddy had an affair with Marvin Gaye’s wife. A lot of people don’t know that. We’ll get into all that in this movie.”
Tyrese was captivated by Teddy’s story from the outset.
He thinks going from a super vigorous, sexy man to someone who suddenly depends on others for basic mobility is a touching storyline.
“His brain is still the same, but his body is dead… In his mind he’s still ego Teddy Pendergrass, sex symbol, hot stage performer, and all of a sudden he can’t move,” Tyrese detailed. “There’s something very interesting and powerful about that dynamic, and we’re gonna explore that.”
