50 Cent plays cancer-stricken football player Deon Barnes in his new film Things Fall Apart, due out later this year. You may recall the startling photos of a super skinny 50, who lost 54 pounds to take on the role. The drama was directed by Mario Van Peebles and co-stars Ray Liotta and Lynn Whitfield.

“My motivation for the project was my best friend, Charles Pringle,” the rapper-turned-actor previously told Rap-Up. “He lived across the street from me; he actually died of cancer.”

Get a sneak peek of Curtis Jackson tackling his most serious role yet in the “unofficial” trailer.