US rapper P Diddy, who is about to star in a TV adaptation of a Broadway play, says that acting has changed his life.

The rapper, whose real name is Sean Coombs, made his acting debut in Monster’s Ball alongside the late Heath Ledger in 2001.

However, Coombs’ forthcoming role in A Raisin In The Sun is his biggest yet and a challenge he’s looking forward to.

"You will see me in more things to come. I want to take my time and feel confident," he told PA.

"I still have a lot more growing and a lot more learning to do. Acting was one of the most challenging things I've ever done as an artist. It truly changed my life."

Coombs also admitted that he was destined to appear in A Raisin In The Sun, which tells the story of a poor black family, following the death of his father when he was three.

"I went through those years of having to watch my mother and my grandmother work two jobs and not being able to take care of my family,” he explained, “and the look on my mother's face when I would ask for a thing and she couldn't afford it."

(by Jason Gregory)