Who Played Tupac? Actors in Film and Television

Tupac himself is only seen in archival footage when a film tells his life story. Dramatized scenes require actors-and their casting shows how much the view of him has changed over twenty years: he almost always appeared as a supporting figure in other people’s biographies. Here are the actors who have portrayed him in film and television, with year and context.

Anthony Mackie: First on Stage, Then Biggie’s Rival

Anthony Mackie first played Tupac in 2001 in the stage play Up Against the Wind, back then still a student at the Juilliard School. In 2009, he portrayed him in the feature film Notorious about The Notorious B.I.G., in which Jamal Woolard plays the title role.

Tupac is a supporting figure there who turns from friend to opponent: the plot leads from their mutual friendship through the robbery at Quad Studios in November 1994 to the East Coast-West Coast feud. Whenever the film shows Tupac, it is from Biggie’s perspective. Today, Mackie is best known as a Marvel actor.

Marcc Rose: First a Cameo with N.W.A, Then the Unsolved Case

Marcc Rose first played Tupac in Straight Outta Compton (2015), the film about N.W.A. There, the character has only a few scenes. In 2017, Billboard and Vibe reported that Rose would also play Tupac in the USA Network series Unsolved.

The series ran starting February 27, 2018, with Wavyy Jonez as Biggie. The plot revolves around investigators Russell Poole and Greg Kading (more details on the page Films and Series About the Murder Case). In the series, Tupac is not the main character, but the case.

Demetrius Shipp Jr.: The Lead Role in His Own Biopic

Demetrius Shipp Jr. had the biggest role in the biopic All Eyez on Me by Benny Boom. He was cast because he bears an uncanny physical resemblance to Tupac; in his own words, he had never planned to become an actor. His father had worked on the song Toss It Up on the album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.

Filming began in December 2015 in Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Los Angeles. On June 16, 2017, Tupac’s birthday, the film was released in theaters. According to Wikipedia, it grossed about $55 million against a budget of $40 to $45 million.

Reviews were mostly poor: Rolling Stone wrote that Tupac does not get the biopic he deserves; The Guardian also found the film passionless, but praised Shipp’s performance. Jada Pinkett Smith and director John Singleton voiced sharp criticism (see All Eyez on Me). Between the initial plans in 2011 and filming, several directors came and went, including Antoine Fuqua and Singleton. Shipp has since appeared in the series All American.

Camron Jones: As a Companion in the Snoop Dogg Biopic

On August 25, 2026, it was reported that Camron Jones (known from Panic) is set to play Tupac in the Universal biopic about Snoop Dogg. The film is scheduled to open in US theaters on August 6, 2027; plot details have not been published (as of October 2026).

Documentaries, Hologram, Video Game: Where No Actor Is Needed

There are no actors in the documentaries: Tupac: Resurrection and Dear Mama work with his voice and archival footage (Tupac: Resurrection, Dear Mama). The Coachella 2012 hologram was also a computer re-creation, not an actor’s performance (Hologram). And in the video game Stranger Than Heaven, Tupac appears as a character in 2026.

What is striking is that almost all actors play supporting roles in other people’s stories: Biggie’s, N.W.A’s, or Snoop’s. For a long time, the 2017 biopic remained the only attempt to place Tupac at the center.