8 Utterly Ridiculous TV Castings That Totally Rocked Anyway

6. Ice T As Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola €“ Law & Order SVU

In the world of showbiz, it's not ridiculous or even wholly remarkable for a rapper to appear in a film or TV show. In fact, you'd probably find it more difficult to name one who hasn't tried acting at some stage in their career. Unfortunately (and more often than not) said rapper will go for roles that fit their public image, playing criminals or exaggerated versions of that constructed image that perpetuate negative stereotypes instead of challenging them. With all this in mind, if we consider the fact that Ice T, ex-member of the rap heavy metal group Bodycount and the brains behind the highly controversial song 'Cop Killer' has played Detective Odafin Tutuola of the New York Police Department's Special Victims Unit for close to fourteen years, the irony is too delicious to ignore. Law & Order Special Victims Unit is not my favourite show in the Dick Wolf police drama canon. Each episode contains way too much intensity and emotional fallout to fit into a very rigid forty minute schedule for my liking, which in turn causes many scenes to come across very stunted and undeveloped. Amidst the chaos of investigating sexually-based crimes though, Tutuola is the silent strength of the 16th precinct and goes about his business with a calm level-headedness. He doesn't let his personal feelings cloud his judgement and his partnership with Detective Munch adds a refreshing respite from the fractious, pressured relationship we frequently endured with Stabler and Benson. Ice T deserves praise for his work on Law & Order. He doesn't fall into the trap of playing the arrogant, aggressive cop who treats his suspects and the world around him with an air of brutality as one might expect, he adds maturity and a strong sense of justice to the cast. I'll never understand how the ability to speak words to a beat lends itself to playing deep and complicated characters, but if other rappers fancy trying their hand at this acting lark they'd do well to take notes.