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O'Shea Jackson Jr.

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O'Shea Jackson Jr.
Jackson at the 2018 San Diego Comic-Con
Born (1991-02-24) February 24, 1991 (age 33)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other namesOMG
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
Occupations
  • Actor
  • rapper
  • songwriter
Years active2009–present
Children1
FatherIce Cube
Musical career
Genres
LabelsLench Mob

O'Shea Jackson Jr. (born February 24, 1991), also known by the stage name OMG, is an American actor, rapper and songwriter. He is the oldest son of Ice Cube and, in his feature film debut, he portrayed his father in the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton.[1]

Early life

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Jackson was born in Los Angeles, California, to O'Shea Jackson Sr., better known as Ice Cube, and Kimberly Woodruff. Jackson was raised in the San Fernando Valley, and is the oldest of four children. He has two younger brothers, Darrell and Shareef, and a younger sister, Kareema.[2] Darrell is also a rapper under the name Doughboy, which is the nickname of the character his father portrayed in his first film, Boyz n the Hood. Jackson attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California, from which he graduated in 2009. His father also attended Taft High School.[3] Jackson attended the University of Southern California, where he studied screenwriting, but dropped out to pursue his acting career.[4][5]

Career

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Film

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In June 2014, it was announced that Jackson had been cast to portray his father, Ice Cube, in Straight Outta Compton, a biographical film about N.W.A.[1] The film was released on August 14, 2015, to positive reviews. Jackson is noted for his physical resemblance to his father, which Ice Cube described to Jimmy Kimmel in October 2014 as "spot-on. He was born to play the part."[6]

In 2017, Jackson played Dan Pinto, the Batman-obsessed aspiring screenwriter, landlord and love interest of Aubrey Plaza's character Ingrid Thorburn in the film Ingrid Goes West, with many critics—including the Los Angeles Times, Vulture, and Collider—commenting on his scene-stealing abilities.[7][8][9] In 2018, Jackson starred in the film Den of Thieves, which also included 50 Cent and Gerard Butler.

Jackson appears in two May 2019 movies. He has a supporting role as Lance in the romantic comedy Long Shot alongside Charlize Theron and Seth Rogen, playing the best friend of Rogen's character. In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, he portrays Barnes, the leader of the G-Team, the special military forces group run specializing in battles involving Titans.[10][11]

Also in 2019, Jackson co-starred with Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Foxx, and Brie Larson in the drama Just Mercy. He portrays Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent 30 years behind bars after being wrongfully convicted of murder.[11]

After four years away from films, in 2023 he made his return in the dark comedy film Cocaine Bear as Daveed.

Music

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In 2010, Jackson and his brother Darrell were featured on the songs "She Couldn't Make It On Her Own" and "Y'all Know How I Am", from their father's album I Am the West.

In March 2012, Jackson, under the name OMG, released his first mixtape, Jackin' for Beats, online. Jazmine Gray of Vibe said, "True to its title, the hip-hop rookie offers his own lyrics over the beats of some of the most popular tracks of the year. The 10-track tape finds the son of a hip hop icon off to a promising start."[12]

In an interview with XXL Magazine, Jackson said that "Some people say I sound like OMG. No one has compared me or tried to match me up with other artists."[13]

In 2015, Jackson appeared in Pia Mia's music video for her song "Touch". He also appeared in American hip hop duo Twenty88's music video, "Out of Love", promoting their self-titled debut extended play.[14]

Television

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On February 6, 2018, Jackson played hip hop legend Kool Herc in a segment of Drunk History.[15] On October 4, 2019, Jackson made a guest appearance on the debut of WWE Smackdown on Fox.[16]

Jackson starred opposite Dave Franco in the comedy series The Now.[17] It was originally set to be released on Quibi, but was ultimately released on The Roku Channel on December 10, 2021.

In the 2021 basketball drama show, Swagger, Jackson plays Ike Edwards, a former rising star who struggles to coach a young high-stake basketball team. [18] The series premiered on October 29, 2021 on Apple TV+.

He played Kawlan Roken in the Disney+ Star Wars series, Obi-Wan Kenobi.[19]

Personal life

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Jackson has a daughter, Jordan Reign Jackson, born in August 2017 with his ex-girlfriend, Jackie Garcia.[20][21] He is a fan of professional wrestling,[22] the Los Angeles Kings of the NHL,[23] and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFL.[24][25]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2015 Straight Outta Compton Ice Cube
2017 Ingrid Goes West Daniel "Dan" Pinto
2018 Den of Thieves Donnie Wilson
2019 Long Shot Lance
Godzilla: King of the Monsters Chief Warrant Officer Jackson Barnes
Just Mercy Anthony Ray Hinton
2023 Cocaine Bear Daveed
2025 Den of Thieves 2: Pantera Donnie Wilson [26]

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2018 Drunk History DJ Kool Herc 1 episode
2021 The Premise Cooper 1 episode
2021 The Now Coop Miniseries, 9 episodes
2021–2023 Swagger Ike Main role, 18 episodes
2022 Obi-Wan Kenobi Kawlan Roken Miniseries, 3 episodes

Discography

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Year Title type Other notes
2012 Jackin' for Beats Mixtape
2014 "OMG" Single produced by Foreign Allegiance
2015 "Ain't No Place" Single produced by Foreign Allegiance
Guest appearances
Year Song Artist Album
2010 "She Couldn't Make It On Her Own" Ice Cube (feat. OMG & Doughboy) I Am the West
"Y'all Know How I Am" Ice Cube (feat. OMG, Doughboy, WC & Young Maylay)

References

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  1. ^ a b Sean O'Neal (June 9, 2014). "Ice Cube cast his son as Ice Cube in the NWA biopic". Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  2. ^ "Ice Cube - Biography". IMDb.com. Amazon. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  3. ^ Bob Strauss (April 27, 2015). "Summer movie preview: O'Shea Jackson Jr. plays dad Ice Cube in 'Straight Outta Compton'". Retrieved November 1, 2016.
  4. ^ "'Straight Outta Compton' star O'Shea Jackson Jr. is a scene stealer in his new movie". Business Insider. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  5. ^ "'Ice Cube's 4 Kids: All About O'Shea Jr., Darrell, Kareema and Shareef". Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  6. ^ Iyana Robertson (October 21, 2014). "Ice Cube Says 'Straight Outta Compton' Cast Did 'A Hell Of A Job'". Vibe. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  7. ^ Yamato, Jen (August 10, 2017). "Dark comedy 'Ingrid Goes West' is a warning to fave-thirsty social media addicts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  8. ^ Handler, Rachel (August 10, 2017). "ngrid Goes West's Filmmakers on Aubrey Plaza's Deranged Performance — and That Catwoman Sex Scene". Vulture. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  9. ^ Chitwood, Adam (April 3, 2017). "Aubrey Plaza Goes Insane in First 'Ingrid Goes West' Trailer". Collider.com. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  10. ^ Schaefer, Stephen (May 1, 2019). "O'Shea Jackson crosses 'Long Shot' role off bucket list". Boston Herald. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "'Long Shot' Star O'Shea Jackson Jr. on Sharing the Screen With Seth Rogen and Godzilla [Interview]". /Film. May 3, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  12. ^ Jazmine Gray (March 28, 2012). "Ice Cube's Son OMG (Oh My Goodness) Releases First Mixtape, 'Jackin For Beats'". Vibe. Retrieved February 11, 2015.
  13. ^ "The Break Presents: OMG". XXL. May 4, 2012. Retrieved February 12, 2015.
  14. ^ Adejobi, Alicia (February 24, 2016). "O'Shea Jackson Jr 25th birthday: Facts about the Straight Outta Compton actor you didn't know". International Business Times UK. Retrieved January 22, 2018.
  15. ^ "Watch Questlove Explain Hip-Hop's Origins on "Drunk History"". Pitchfork. February 7, 2018.
  16. ^ "WWE SmackDown 20th Anniversary Results - Big Returns and Debut, Brock Lesnar Vs. Kofi Kingston, More". October 4, 2019.
  17. ^ Ray-Ramos, Dino (November 11, 2019). "Quibi Comedy 'The Now' Sets O'Shea Jackson, Daryl Hannah, And Jimmy Tatro In Lead Roles; Alyssa Milano, Rob Yang And Lex Scott Davis To Recur". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  18. ^ "O'Shea Jackson Jr. To Star In Apple's Kevin Durant Basketball Drama 'Swagger' In Recasting". February 5, 2020.
  19. ^ Romanchick, Shane (June 13, 2022). "'Obi-Wan Kenobi' Character Poster Released of O'Shea Jackson Jr.'s Kawlan Roken". Collider. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  20. ^ "O'Shea Jackson Jr. Reveals Parenting Advice from Dad Ice Cube". The Ellen Show. April 22, 2019. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  21. ^ "Rapper Ice Cube Now A Grandfather After Son O'Shea Jackson Jr. Reportedly Welcomes A Baby". Scubby. September 21, 2017. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  22. ^ "O'Shea Jackson Jr on Talk Is Jericho - EP305". poorstuart.com. May 20, 2020. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  23. ^ NHL (May 6, 2019). Seth Rogen, stars of "Long Shot" discuss their hockey fandom on NHL Celebrity Wrap. Retrieved August 16, 2024 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ "Why I'm a Fan: O'Shea Jackson, Jr".
  25. ^ "Here For It | Los Angeles Rams 2023 Season with O'Shea Jackson Jr". YouTube.
  26. ^ Grobar, Matt (August 1, 2023). "Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera Rounds Out Cast With 11 Additions". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 1, 2023.
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