P. Diddy May Play Death Row Inmate

May 10 -- Rap star Sean "P. Diddy" Combs was acquitted of gun and bribery charges earlier this year — but he may be headed for jail anyway. Only this time, he'll get paid for the appearance.

Combs, formerly known as Puff Daddy, is in final negotiations to play a small but significant role in Monster's Ball, a Lions Gate film that will star Billy Bob Thornton, Heath Ledger, Halle Berry, and Peter Boyle. The story, set in the contemporary South, centers on Thornton and Ledger, a father-son team who work on an electric chair at the local prison.

Combs will play Berry's boyfriend, a death row inmate who gets sent to the chair that Thornton's character — a racist — works on.

The film, directed by Marc Forster (Vanished), will be filmed in Louisiana, in part at Angola State prison.

This summer, Combs will appear in Made, a comedy about low-level mobsters. Combs is not one of the major characters in the film, but his influence in New York reportedly came in handy during the filming — he gained the crew access to expensive clubs such as Spa, China Club, and 357.