Drake is opening up about one of the most difficult moments from his acting days on Degrassi: The Next Generation. Long before music made him a global star, he was known to fans as Jimmy Brooks, a role that took a dramatic turn in the series’ school shooting storyline.
In the new documentary Degrassi: Whatever It Takes, the Toronto native recalls how unprepared he was when he first learned his character would be paralyzed. “I didn’t know about the end of ‘Time Stands Still’ until I was in the read-through. Somebody told me to mentally prepare for today’s script, but they didn’t tell me there was going to be a shooting at the school and that it was me,” Drake said. The table read quickly turned emotional. “There was shock and sadness. We were holding hands and crying in the read-through. It was dark. It was intense.”
Adjusting to the storyline was not easy. “My question was ‘What now? I don’t want to spend the rest of my years in a wheelchair. I want to be with everyone else, what do you mean?’ Unfortunately, that’s not how life goes,” he admitted.
Looking back, Drake sees the value in how the show chose to tackle such heavy material. “I think that was why I think that show’s so good, because life is f*cked up and they weren’t afraid to let you know that,” he explained. Portraying Jimmy after the shooting gave him new purpose as an actor. “A lot more went into playing Jimmy after I got shot, for sure. It gave me something to study. It gave me homework.”
Today, Drake is focused on music again. His upcoming ninth album, ICEMAN, does not yet have a release date, but fans already have a preview through singles like “What Did I Miss?” and “Dog House.”
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