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"TI has said that he hopes to emulate Will Smith and Ice Cube as he moves into acting. The rapper has split his time between hip-hop and acting in recent years with roles in ATL, American Gangster and now Identity Thief.   [Left: TI / Right: Will Smith] TI recently suggested to Reuters that Smith and Ice Cube have set a good example that he plans to follow. &amp;quot;Looking at the roles Cube has been able to acquire, he created those opportunities for himself. So I think I could take that approach,&amp;quot; he said. The musician continued: &amp;quot;I think people might wonder whether or not TI can be anything other than TI, so it&amp;#039;s constantly having to reassure people that I&amp;#039;m able to do what I already know I can do.&amp;quot; TI went on to explain that his desire to branch out led him to accept a supporting role in Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy&amp;#039;s comedy Identity Thief. &amp;quot;I actually enjoyed the fact that all of the heavy lifting was not on my shoulders,&amp;quot; he admitted.  &amp;quot;It was Jason and Melissa&amp;#039;s show, so the stage was set for me to not screw it up, you know what I mean?&amp;quot; Identity Thief - which also stars Amanda Peet and Jon Favreau - opens on Friday, February 8 in the US and March 1 in the UK. Watch a trailer for Identity Thief below:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a456238/identity-thief-star-ti-i-want-to-be-like-will-smith-and-ice-cube/>