Before he became one of the biggest musical artists of his generation, Drake started his showbiz career as Jimmy Brooks in the Canadian TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation... though he almost left the show early.
The 34-year-old Toronto native played Jimmy Brooks from the start of the show in 2001 before leaving halfway through the eighth season.
Degrassi: The Next Generation writer-producer James Hurst revealed in a wide-ranging AV Club oral history of the show for its 20th anniversary that the singer (real name Aubrey Graham) almost left when Jimmy became paralyzed and was bound to a wheelchair.
Almost left early: Before he became one of the biggest musical artists of his generation, Drake started his showbiz career as Jimmy Brooks in the Canadian TV series Degrassi: The Next Generation... though he almost left the show early
Jimmy Brooks was shot in the back during a school shooting in a two-part episode in Season 4, which paralyzed him from the waist down.
While Drake didn't participate in the oral history, his co-star Lauren Collins, who played Paige Michalchuk on the show offered her thoughts on why he was uncomfortable being confined to a wheelchair.
'I don’t want to speak for anyone, but I think [Aubrey] probably struggled with the idea that he was one of two Black characters on the show, and that he was the one who was winding up shot and in a
