Filed under: News
With his increasing popularity as the pitchman for the Old Spice commercials, budding actor Isaiah Mustafa has been cast to the comedy film, 'Horrible Bosses,' which stars Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman, Colin Farrell and Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the former NFL player, who just finished shooting a role for Tyler Perry's 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf,' also stated that he's shooting a guest spot on NBC's 'Chuck.'
All of this work reportedly comes on the heels of Nielsen data citing that sales of Old Spice body products are up a monumental 107% within the past month as a result of his Emmy-nominated spots, and the Old Spice YouTube channels have been viewed more than 58 million times.
In speaking with THR, Mustafa said, "It's a dream come true. It was a couple of lucky occurrences that had to happen for me to get the commercial. I missed the first audition but made the second one they scheduled because they hadn't found anyone. They said they were going to book me, but I didn't get the call. I said "Forget it" and put it out of my head. Then they called after Christmas. I think about it all, and it wows me."
When talking about his upcoming part in the comedy film, the Portland native went on to explain that he's not fully aware of where he stands in the film, "It's a smaller role, but who wouldn't want to be in one of these funny, irreverent comedies? The cast is great. I'm playing a cop because I play these authoritative characters well. I don't know exactly who I'm in the scene with -- maybe Jennifer Aniston!"
It's a good thing Perry landed him first for his film because the 36-year-old former professional football player signed an agreement with NBC and they get to approve any future involvement regarding his entertainment ventures. "It means I'm exclusively working with NBC unless they approve other projects," he said. "I'm going to be filming an episode of 'Chuck' next week. I don't know how many episodes yet, but I do know I'm playing an official CIA guy (named Greta). The character is pretty goofy, so it's going to be fun."
Since his contract with Old Spice is still running, Mustafa said he could be do more work for them in the future, "As far as commercials, I don't think there are any more lined up. They could always change their mind and want more. I signed on to be their spokesperson for a year, so I still have a few months left."
For anyone wondering how Isaiah stays in top shape, he revealed that he's been "doing Tony Horton's DVD sets for three years."
"Right now, I'm vegan-cleansing: no processed sugar, no caffeine, no alcohol, no animal products and no gluten," he added. "I never knew what gluten was before. Now I know exactly what it is, and it's everything I want!"