Taryn Manning Lands New Role Because She Looked Like Fictitious Hooker  7/24/05

Director Craig Brewer knew he'd found the perfect actress to play prostitute Nola in new movie Hustle & Flow when he cut Taryn Manning's picture out of a book without realizing she was a star.

Brewer cut out the photo to give casting agents an idea of what he wanted for the pivotal role in his acclaimed new hip-hop drama, only to discover his inspiration was a real actress, who had starred in 8 Mile and Crossroads.

Manning explains, "He was trying for so long to get it (the film) made that he put together a look book for each character.

"For Nola, he cut out a picture of this girl who had short blonde hair and was wearing sunglasses, and it happened to be a picture of me from a coffee table book.

"Then, when my name happened to be on the list of people they were thinking about, Craig went back to the picture and said, 'Oh my God. This girl is an actress.'"