Drake has come a long way since playing the character of Jimmy Brooks on Degrassi: The Next Generation, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t remember the highs and lows of the role. In a new documentary about the teen drama series, Degrassi: Whatever It Takes, he reflects on the moment he and his castmates learned that his character would be permanently injured in a school shooting. According to him, it was heavy for everyone involved and came as a complete surprise.
“I didn’t know about the end of ‘Time Stands Still’ until I was in the read-through. Somebody told me to mentally prepare for today’s script, but they didn’t tell me there was going to be a shooting at the school and that it was me,” he explained, per Complex. “There was shock and sadness. We were holding hands and crying in the read-through. It was dark. It was intense.”
“My question was ‘What now? I don’t want to spend the rest of my years in a wheelchair,” Drake continued. “I want to be with everyone else, what do you mean?’ Unfortunately, that’s not how life goes.”
Drake ICEMAN
Dec 1, 2021; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Rapper, singer and actor Drake watches the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Houston Rockets during the second half of an Oklahoma City Thunder game at Paycom Center. Alonzo Adams / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“I think that was why I think that show’s so good, because life is f*cked up and they weren’t afraid to let you know that,” the Toronto rapper added. “A lot more went into playing Jimmy after I got shot, for sure. It gave me something to study. It gave me homework.”
As for what Drake is working on these days, he’s currently gearing up to drop his ninth studio album, ICEMAN. The project doesn’t have an official release date yet, but it’s expected to arrive sometime this year. So far, he’s given fans a taste of what’s to come with a few singles, including “What Did I Miss?” and “Dog House.”