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Behind that calm, not too cool persona, Ice Cube is a hardworking business man.

The one-time NWA lead rapper has become an enterprising multi-media star who attracts audiences, actors, and, most of all, investors.

“Friday After Next” is Cube’s most recent project (third in the “Friday” franchise), hitting theaters today. The film reunites several of the cast members from the original and second installment, along with some newcomers. Cube discovered his most recent co-star Mike Epps at The Comedy Store on Sunset Boulevard.

“I grew up listening to NWA, so I was real familiar with Ice Cube,” Epps said. “So when I met him, it was almost like he was a family member for real, like a big bro or a big cousin.”

In fact, Cube (who was born O’ Shea Jackson) goes out of his way to help actors come into their own – a reflection of the treatment some veterans gave him during the experience of shooting his first movie, “Boyz N the Hood.”

“Laurence Fishburne, Angela Basset, all these people who were trained actors helped me with the techniques,” Cube said. “Not setting your glass down on your line, hitting your marks, and all that. That is what I try to help with all the new people, because you can get overwhelmed by the new situation.”

With the box office smash “Barbershop” this year, as well as previous films like “Three Kings” and “Higher Learning,” Cube has become a major Hollywood player, and an example for would-be rappers turned actors. Not only does Cube star, he often writes, produces, and does the soundtracks for his movies. Cube keeps with this tradition in “Friday After Next,” with the exception of contributing to the soundtrack.

In this latest installment, the pot-smoking antics of Cube and company continue, as a Santa-impersonator robs their crib. In keeping with tradition, “Friday After Next” takes places on a single Friday, which this time also happens to be Christmas Eve.

Cube and his supporters hope this film will continue to further the name that he’s created for himself in the business, as each “Friday” film has grossed at least six times what it cost to make.

“If we do it right, package it right, everyone knows they are going to make money off the movie, and that is because we keep the costs down,” Cube said. “That of course makes people who finance films very excited.”

The new “Friday” movie uses more physical comedy, similar to the slapstick style of the “Three Stooges,” which includes a clumsy, accident-prone Santa. Cube claims that the focus on physical comedy was a conscious effort to make the “Friday” series more universal and less “hood.”

When asked which “Friday” he liked best, Cube said, “The first one we did in 20 days, 2.4 million dollars. A lot of new actors, new directors, new producers, we were new writers and we made something special and that is the one that is closest to my heart.”

But of course the one out in theatres now would have to be his favorite, right?

“My favorite one though, is the third one. It was just fun, it was like a ride,” Cube added. “We go for the straight laughs, we don’t go for the social commentary.”