Just as Snoop Dogg discovered music through the records his mother used to play for him, he discovered movies through the 1970s blaxploitation films she used to take him to see.

In a telephone conference Wednesday afternoon, Snoop said he idolized heroes such as Superfly and Shaft, the stars of some of these films.

"All those characters made me dream I could be one of those guys," Snoop said.

Today marks the premiere of Starsky & Hutch, a movie based on the popular 1970s cop show of the same name. The film stars Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson as the titular duo and Snoop as Huggy Bear, a pimped-out police informant. It is his highest profile acting role yet.

Snoop burst into the public spotlight in 1993, appearing on several tracks of Dr. Dre's hit album, The Chronic, including the hit single "Nuthin' But A 'G' Thang." Shortly after, Snoop's Doggystyle became the first debut album to open at No. 1 on the charts. Since then, Snoop has expanded his repertoire to include movies along with music. He has had lead roles in a few low-budget films, such as 2001's Bones and cameo roles in more mainstream fare such as 2003's Old School.

Snoop's performance in Starsky & Hutch, like the majority of his acting work up to this point, is a comic one. As far as comedy goes, Snoop said he is influenced and impressed with the work of comedian Richard Pryor.

"I liked all his movies," Snoop said. "I'd like to do it like him at some point in time."

Playing Huggy Bear took some preparation, he said. "When I go into a role, I like to do a lot in-depth searching for the character and then I try to bring them to life," Snoop said. He said he remembered watching the TV series as a child, but had to watch a few episodes to refresh his memory.

Snoop said he wanted to make his portrayal of Huggy different than that of Antonio Fargas, the actor who played Huggy in the TV series.

"I wanted to add some dimension to him, so I did that," he said.

Snoop credited the cast and crew of S&H as being generally supportive of him in the part. "All the actors made me feel like an actor," he said. "They made me feel really comfortable, and I appreciate that."

The hardest part of the shoot, Snoop said, was when he had to endure getting slapped onscreen by another actor. "I ain't used to getting hit without a quick reaction," Snoop said. "That was hard."

Snoop said he has no plans to give up either acting or recording music, but he said that at some point down the road, he may have to choose between the two.

One thing Snoop has given up, at least for now, is marijuana. Although the drug has been closely associated with the rap artist's image throughout his career, Snoop said he has recently stopped using it.

"I'm leaving it alone for the time being," he said, citing one reason as the responsibilities of coaching his son's Pop Warner football team. Snoop added that he doesn't see quitting the drug as having any impact on his career.

"[As] far as people doing business, they do business because of what Snoop Dogg brings to the table," Snoop said. "I'm always gonna be Snoop Dogg, whether I'm smoking weed or not."

In response to a question about the increasing connection between marijuana and consumerism in rap music, Snoop responded that he felt "the artists are doing their thing. Music is just an expression."

He discussed his own somewhat tumultuous life, which includes being convicted for cocaine possession in 1990 and being charged with murder in 1994. "Early in my career, it was all happening so fast, and all of a sudden, I was getting all this attention, and there's really no school you can go to on how to be a star," he said.

But these days, Snoop said he has a more mature approach to his work.

"I just give the people what they want. ... I just love entertaining people," he said.