Scottish actor James Nesbitt has a long list of credits, but it is his role in Sliding Doors that connects him to Eminem. That, and his ability to rhyme what others can’t.
Legend has it that Eminem first heard Dido’s “Thank You” on the Sliding Doors soundtrack, in which Nesbitt played the leading man. He even had his own version of the story when he spoke to The Guardian:
It’s strange how Sliding Doors and Four Weddings have travelled the world. It’s certainly cool to think that somebody as far out of left field as Eminem has actually even seen something you’ve done. Although, the story I heard was that he was so sickened by the sweetness that he decided to counterpoint it with an obsessed fan trying to murder his girlfriend.
In reality, it was producer the 45 King who accidentally heard the song in the movie trailer and was so captivated by the vocals that he taped it straight from the TV. In VH1’s documentary about making The Marshall Mathers LP, he said:
I taped it, I took it downstairs to the basement, I looped it up. Added a bassline and drum track.
He passed the beat to Interscope, and that’s how Eminem first heard Dido’s song. He was not put off by its sweetness, but rather focused on one seemingly innocent line. He said in the same documentary:
“Your picture on my wall” – this is about an obsessed fan. That’s all I kept thinking.
Eminem might not have even watched the movie at all. But urban legends often stray very far from reality.
However, this tenuous connection is not the only one between Eminem and James Nesbitt. The actor is also known for his pronounced Scottish accent in Co-op supermarket commercials that turns their slogan “Good with food” into a rhyme. He does not believe that he was hired for this job with this specific goal in mind, but he certainly enjoys the result.
I don’t think they realised that it could possibly rhyme. It’s like when Eminem rhymes all these things with “orange”. I’m the Scottish Eminem!