According to The Hollywood Reporter, shooting for the upcoming Tupac Biopic is set to begin in the spring of 2014. But while the long-delayed film now has a shooting date, producers, and financial backers, one thing it’s still missing is the lead actor. We want to see this biopic made just as much as the next Pac fan and that’s why we’ve come up with our own list of actors who could play the lead role. As a disclaimer, we’ll let you know off the bat the pickings were slim, but we’re still pretty satisfied with the names we came up with to play the lead in the Tupac Biopic.
And if you want to see a list of actors who should absolutely not ever in this life or the next play Tupac, head over to HipHopWired.
Brandon Hammond
You recognize this face don’t you? It’s little Ahmad from “Soul Food.” Though we haven’t seen Brandon on the big screen since ’97, we refuse to believe his talent has gone by the wayside and there’s something sort of Tupac-ish about him with those full lips and perfect teeth, not to mention his bald head.
Source: WENN
Antwon Tanner
Antwon was one of the ’90s go-to black guys when a sitcom (like Sister Sister or Moesha) needed a love interest or a guy friend. Though some legal issues knocked him off the acting scene around 2009 and 2010, we’re thinking the Tupac biopic is the perfect opportunity for him to hop back in the game.
Source: WENN
Michael B. Jordan
MBJ is hot in Hollywood right now. Off the heels of his stellar performance in “Fruitvale Station,” we’re a little disappointed Michael B. Jordan’s next project is a comedy with Zac Efron because he’s way too talented to just play a token black guy. After seeing how well he was able to personify Oscar Grant, we have no doubts he could do just as good a job emulating Tupac.
Source: WENN
Anthony Mackie
Hear us out on this one. We know Anthony kind of blew his shot as Pac in “Notorious,” but that movie as a whole was something of a hot mess. We know Anthony is talented, so given the right director, supporting cast, and time to prepare, we think he could nail the role.
Brandon Quintin Adams
We haven’t thought about Brandon Quintin Adams much since “The Sandlot” and “Mighty Ducks” either, but this biopic is exactly the kind of movie that needs someone we don’t see all the time so we can really visualize them as Pac. Brandon’s been easing his way back into film since last year so we figure he should at least give the audition some thought.
Source: WENN
Josh Harraway
We can’t vouch for his acting skills on camera but there’s no denying the likeness of Josh Harraway to Tupac. Josh has pegged himself as the “World’s First Tupac Impersonator” and we think with an acting coach, watching him on-screen could be like watching the real Pac in action.
Source: WENN
Michael Rainey, Jr.
Were going to need a young Pac to do the movie any justice so our first pick is Michael Rainey, Jr. He did a stellar job in “Luv” as the hardcore adolescent trying to keep up with his thug uncle Common and we think he could do just as well as a mini-Shakur.
C.J. Sanders
You probably don’t recognize the name, but if you look hard enough we know you recognize the boy who played a young Ray Charles in Ray. We expected to see more of C.J. after that role, but he went on to attend high school like any other teen and impress coaches on the football field. Perhaps he can take a break from his studies to give this part a try.
Source: WENN
Rob Brown
Rob has been on our radar’s recently because of his racial profiling lawsuit against Macy’s but we’re far more interested in the “Finding Forrester” actor’s talent. We can so see him killing it as Pac.
