Drake and other stars of Degrassi are opening up about their experience working on the hit Canadian teen drama.
“I didn’t have a great time in high school. I just didn’t really fit in,” the rapper, 38, said in the Wednesday, August 27, trailer for the documentary Whatever It Takes about life before he joined the cast of Degrassi. “And one day my mom called me and told me, ‘You got the role,’ and I just grabbed my bag and left.”
He added, “Man, what a wild journey that started.”
Drake (real name Aubrey Drake Graham) starred in Degrassi: The Next Generation from 2001 to 2008 as Jimmy Brooks, the school’s star basketball player. (Degrassi: The Next Generation was the fourth installment of the Degrassi franchise, which began in 1976.)
The trailer cut to a clip of Drake’s character sharing a smooch with Lauren Collins, who played Paige Michalchuk.
“She had to be one of my first kisses for sure,” Drake said in the clip. “Damn, I never thought about it like that.”
Degrassi fans know that Jimmy never dated Lauren, but instead had an on-and-off relationship with Ashley Kerwin (Melissa McIntyre). Throughout his time on the show, Jimmy’s storyline also included romances with Paige’s best friend Hazel (Andrea Lewis) and Trina (Terra Vnesa), whom he met in physical therapy after he was paralyzed in a mass shooting.
Degrassi cast Everett Collection
Drake isn’t the only star reflecting on his time at Degrassi. Whatever It Takes also includes interviews with Dayo Ade, Stefan Brogren, Amanda Deiseach, Maureen Deiseach, Shenae Grimes-Beech, Jake Epstein, Shane Kippel, Miriam McDonald, Stacie Mistysyn, Melinda Shankar, Amanda Stepto and Jordan Todosey. Filmmaker Kevin Smith also appears in the doc, discussing the show’s impact on pop culture.
“You know the show. Now discover the story behind it,” the official Degrassi account wrote via Instagram on Wednesday alongside the doc trailer. “Degrassi: Whatever It Takes dives into the behind-the-scenes truth of the Degrassi franchise. Through archival footage and intimate interviews with cast, crew, and fans, the documentary celebrates the groundbreaking legacy of Degrassi — a fearless Canadian teen drama that broke boundaries and reshaped television.”
Whatever it takes! Degrassi: The Next Generation launched the careers of Drake (Real name: Aubrey Graham), Nina Dobrev, Shenae Grimes and more, but some fans will always see the actors and actresses as their iconic characters. Degrassi: The Next Generation, the fourth instatement of the Degrassi franchise, premiered in 2001. The series originally centered on […]
Whatever It Takes will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13.
While Drake left the show after appearing in 100 episodes, Degrassi: The Next Generation ran for 14 seasons and wrapped up in 2015. In 2016, a new spinoff titled Degrassi: Next Class aired on Netflix. The series ended in 2017 after four seasons.
