Warner Bros. has asked 31-year-old rapper Snoop Dogg to take the role of hustler Huggy Bear in the film version of the cult-classic TV series, Variety reports. The two title roles have already been doled out to Ben Stiller, 36, and Owen Wilson, 34. Filming is set to begin in February.
In the original series, Antonio Fargas played the streetwise stoolie, offering valuable info (and comic relief) to actors David Soul and Philip Michael Glaser.
The role marks the first time the rapper/actor, born Calvin Broadus, has teamed up with Warner Bros. since 2001's "Training Day," Variety reports. Dogg's other features have included "Bones" and "The Wash" (both also in 2001), and he recently shot a cameo for the upcoming TV movie "It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie" -- only to have it end up on the cutting-room floor.
Dogg brings to the crime-fighter drama a troubled past of his own. The actor served a drug conviction just after graduating from high school; he was charged with murder in 1993, but was found not guilty.
