Actor Playing Tupac in Biopic Will Make You Do a Double Take
After several false starts, the Tupac Shakur biopic All Eyez on Me is finally in production — and all eyez are on the actor cast to play the rap icon.
Newcomer Demetrius Shipp Jr. was selected to play 'Pac after producers held a casting call to fill the role. It's clear to see why Shipp was chosen — his resemblance to the late rapper is uncanny.
This will be Shipp's first major role and he even took acting classes four times a week to prepare. “Blessed to be in this position. Thankful I got to start my career off working with the great legend. Appreciate you brotha 4real,” he wrote on Instagram. According to TMZ, Demetrius’ father actually crossed paths with Tupac himself several times during his life.
Benny Boom will direct the biopic, and other cast members include Vampire Diaries star Kat Graham as Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jamal Woolard once again playing Biggie Smalls. DeSean Jackson recently announced that he's signed on as a producer.
Production for the film is taking place in Atlanta and is set to portray Shakur’s rise to stardom all the way to his murder in 1996.
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Check out Shipp in character as 2Pac and watch: BET Breaks: Benny Boom Will Direct the Biopic of a Lifetime, below.
(Photo: AP Photo/FILE)
