Shad Gaspard revealed on his MySpace blog that he auditioned for the role of Ukafa (the main villain) in the remake of Conan the Barbarian At the time he was convinced that he did a good job, but was worried about all the other "Hollywood heavy hitters" that were also being looked at.
Gaspard has now updated his blog again, this time stating that he has passed the first part of casting and that the role is now down to him and only a few other actors. Gaspard is 29-years-old, 6'7 feet tall and weighs 285 lbs. Sounds like a great fit physically, but there is the whole not actually an actor thing to consider. Between this and the casting of Jason Momoa as Conan I think director Markus Nispel would want to have a few tricks up his sleeve to appease the fanboys..and he would want to reveal those tricks pretty soon if he wants anyone to keep interest going.
Check out this casting call for Ukafa: He's in his 30s-40, very dark-skinned African or African American, massively framed at six-foot-five, gold-toothed, hardened by a lifetime of war, a leader of Kushite Tribemen from the savannahs of Kush. Ukafa is Khalar Singh's second in command, jealous that Singh's son, Fariq, will one day be warlord. He obeys his leader but plots the overthrow of his son. He is a mighty warrior and unbeatable in battle until he comes face to face with Conan.
Gold teeth? Is this a gansta rap Conan? Will he be sporting pimp hat and hoe's too?