This may be hard for some young people to fathom since Tyrese Gibson has been a well-known, singer, actor, and entertainer for over a quarter century. But before he was known as the fast-talking Roman Pearce in the “Fast and Furious” franchise, he was that one guy from that 1994 Coca-Cola commercial.
Watch it below:
Yeah, that’s right. This commercial put Tyrese on the map before he was recognized as the interesting and controversial entertainer he is today.
During his recent interview with Shannon Sharpe on his “Club Shay Shay” podcast, Tyrese opened up about where he was in life when he was offered to do that commercial and how much he got paid for it.
“I was broker than broke. My stomach was touching my ribs,” he said. “I didn’t have a car. I didn’t have a ride. It was no way I was getting on the bus, especially with a transfer ’cause it was like close to downtown LA, and I was living in Watts South Central L.A. So, he literally had to work a full day at school, and he ended up taking me to this audition.”
Gibson also recalled that because he lived so far away from the commercial, he was three hours late to the set and had missed the audition window. But because the person directing the commercial was also late, he was given a chance.
Although the ad ended up laucnhing his career into stardom, he only was paid $100 for the performance.
“I wanted to know for the first time ever what having over $100 in my pocket would be...that’s all I wanted from the audition,” he said. “I was like I’mma finally get $100…as you can imagine, almost 30 years later everything about my life literally feels like Christmas to this day.”