Bow Wow is the Next Will Smith?

Actor/rapper Shad Moss, aka Bow Wow, is focusing on acting full time. He has joined the upcoming fifth season of HBO's "Entourage" in a recurring role, playing Charlie, a new stand-up comic client of E (Kevin Connolly).

Additionally, he has landed a role opposite Forest Whitaker and Isaiah Washington in the Weinstein Company's sports drama "Patriots," about a high school basketball team in post-Katrina Louisiana.

"After 16 years in the music industry and six successful albums, I've decided to shift my energy to something else I'm passionate about, acting," Moss said. "I'm going to try to be the next Will Smith."

Like Moss, Smith started off as a rapper before segueing into acting.

Moss released a collaborative album last year with fellow recording star Omarion titled "Face Off." Later this year, he is set to return to the studio to work on his seventh album, titled "H.I.M. (History in Making)."

On the acting side, he recently wrapped the indie "Driving Lessons" and has appeared in the features "Roll Bounce," "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift," "Johnson Family Vacation" and "All About the Benjamins."