Although rapper-turned-multimedia-star Eve has a reputation for being as tough as her “Barbershop” character Terri, in person the petite blond performer with the paw print-tattooed chest is as sweet as she can be.
“I’ve definitely been through calming myself down,” the 25-year-old admits. “Terri’s feisty; I can be feisty. Especially when my first album came out. But as you get older, you say, ‘OK, I need to bring it down a little bit.’ “
Besides, at this stage, Eve needs all her energy just to keep up with her professional commitments. Not only is she back in the new “Barbershop 2: Back in Business”–which topped the box-office charts when it opened last weekend–she plays a key role in “The Woodsman,” a controversial indie feature that recently won great acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival.
There’s also another movie, “The Cookout,” in the works, as well as a new Dr. Dre-produced album she plans to record in the summer. Her self-titled sitcom is UPN’s highest-rated series, and she has her own clothing line.
Acting came about with an invitation to be in the first “Barbershop.” Eve, who takes lessons in the craft, has shown an impressively wide range in the few years that she’s been practicing. In “Woodsman,” for example, she trades in her usual comic spitfire persona for a woman who discovers that the new guy at work is a paroled child molester.
“Eve is destined to be a movie star,” says “Back in Business” director Kevin Rodney Sullivan. “The camera doesn’t take your picture, it reads your soul, and she’s got movie-star soul.”