O’Shea Jackson Says He Has to 'Mentally Work Harder' As Ice Cube's Son

It took more than being Ice Cube's son for O'Shea Jackson Jr. to become an actor.

The Den of Thieves 2: Pantera star was on radio program Sway's Universe on Monday (January 13), when he explained why having a famous father didn't result in him being favored as an actor. The 33-year-old began his career by portraying Cube in the 2015 biopic, Straight Outta Compton.

"There's already a concept and an ideology of what type of person I'm going to be before people even meet me because of how they might have views of my father," Jackson told Sway.

Jackson added that people believe that he's "entitled" or "not ready to work" before meeting him. "But I come from a family that prides themselves on being ready to work," he added. "I mean, as a second-generation in any sense or form, you mentally work harder, for sure."

"You are given blessings that put you in positions that people don't get at certain points the same way you did. But it is a mental battle that you have to have," Jackson admitted.

Comparing his journey to his father's, Jackson shared that he doesn't have an "internal battle" of wanting to escape his lifestyle. But in his sophomore year of college, he was given the nudge by Cube to portray him in Straight Outta Compton, which resulted in him dropping out.

When Cube suggested to director F. Gary Gray that Jackson play him, the filmmaker initially thought it was "a joke."

"He didn't tell me during that 'cause [my father] knew that would have just pissed me off," Jackson recalled. "But it's just little things that I had to use to build my fire. I left school, so it took me two years to get the part for Straight Out of Compton."

After pressure from his college friends, who'd already graduated, and family members who were depending on him, Straight Outta Compton became a success, although Jackson wouldn't be offered a role for another year.

Backlash over being cast as Cube led to claims of nepotism online, prompting Jackson to meet with his team about starring in films from different genres, such as the action-adventure Godzilla: King of the Monsters and the black comedy Ingrid Goes West.

"So it was just constantly showing versatility so they couldn't put me in the box," Jackson said.

Jackson expressed a similar sentiment in an interview with Complex's Jacob Kramer last September. "When I did my first film, many tried to downplay my accomplishments by saying it was easy because I played my father," he said at the time. "So I had a meeting with my team to make sure every role was different from the last. It has led me to an amazing life so far. And it has also allowed me to sharpen my acting blade."