Rapper 50 Cent looks set for a busy few months as he works on a number of new films.

The star may be best known as a hip hop artist, but like many before him he is crossing the divide and looks set for a starring role in Tinsel Town over the next few months. 50 has already made his acting debut, featuring in the controversial Get Rich or Die Tryin. That semi-autobiographical piece was enough to get the rapper noticed by the top brass in Hollywood and he is now signed up to do another three films in the near future.

50 Cent's biggest project to date will be Live Bet, a thriller set in Manhattan underground clubs, where people are able to place bets on illegal races. In this underworld, 50 Cent will play a leading character and he is also due to produce the film. After the success of Get Rich, 50 is looking to put his skills to the test with this new project and he's clearly caught the movie bug.

But as well as his own work, the hip hop icon is also planning to step out on screen with some of the world's biggest actors. He will be appearing alongside Samuel L Jackson in Irwin Winkler's Home of the Brave, bringing him alongside the man often considered the coolest on the planet. But that seems unlikely to phase 50 Cent, given his own reputation as one of the biggest rap stars in the world!

And if rubbing shoulders with Jackson isn't enough, 50 is also due to feature in boxing drama The Dance, starring Nicholas Cage. And despite being a huge Elvis fan, it seems Cage already knows a thing or two about his rapping co-star. Cage, who has starred in huge blockbusters such as The Rock, Snake Eyes and World Trade Center, the recent film about the atrocities of 9/11, is backing 50 to be a big hit on the silver screen.

Speaking to MTV recently, Cage said: "I think that he has tremendous soul in his eyes.

"That's what it's all about — can you convey feeling? And he does. I think that this is a great part for him, and he'll be brilliant in it."

The Dance is based on the true story of Billy "The Kid" Roth, former boxing champion and prison boxing trainer. 50 Cent takes the role of an imprisoned fighter given direction and help by Roth, played by Cage. The film is anticipated to hit screens in 2008, although 50 Cent clearly has plenty to keep him occupied until then!