Eminem was the producers’ first pick to play Jake Gyllenhaal’s role in upcoming boxing film Southpaw.

In an interview with Business Insider, father-son producing duo Alan and Peter Riche have revealed the reclusive rapper was their first choice to star as Billy Hope, a boxing champion battling to keep custody of his daughter.

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“We had both seen 8 Mile and loved it and thought he was really interesting and had a real presence on screen,” Alan said.

“I thought this guy hasn’t done a movie in a number of years, this might be interesting to him and, dare I say, a sequel to 8 Mile. Not literally in story, but a good fit for him,” Peter said.

“We knew how important being a father to his daughter is. We didn’t fear going to Eminem and saying this is an amazing role for you and if you got yourself in shape it would be a tour-de-force.”

Eminem, who is a father to three daughters, reportedly agreed to do the project via his management team in October 2010.

However, four weeks before training for the film was due to start he pulled out to focus on his music.

“We were told that he really loved it, but that he feels he’s a musician first and an actor second and he had a lot of inner energy going on for his next album and that’s where his muse was taking him,” Alan recalled.

After Eminem’s exit, DreamWorks abandoned the project and the rights to the film landed in the hands of The Weinstein Company.

The search for the new Billy Hope featured several candidates, including Aaron Paul, Australian actor Travis Fimmel and Sons of Anarchy star Charlie Hunnam.

“[But] Harvey Weinstein always had it in his head that it would be Jake Gyllenhaal,” Alan revealed.

Gyllenhaal got on board and committed to intense training sessions, gaining more than 13 kg to play Billy.

Eminem wasn’t completely uninvolved however, contributing two songs to the film’s soundtrack.

Jake Gyllenhaal in ‘Southpaw’.