Demetrius Shipp Jr.

It would seem that Demetrius Shipp Jr. was fated to play the role of legendary slain rapper Tupac Shakur almost from birth. Shipp's father, Demetrius "Meech" Shipp, worked with many artists in the hip-hop community as a music producer, including Bobby Brown, Troop, and even Shakur himself. Still more interestingly, during the younger Shipp's tenure in high school and later working at Target, his friends and acquaintances would frequently notice his strong physical resemblance to Shakur, even calling him by the nickname "Tupac." And so, when director Benny Boom began searching for the actor to play the lead in his biopic about Shakur "All Eyez on Me" (2016), it made sense that Shipp, though inexperienced as an actor, still stood out from the crowd of hopefuls lining up for a shot at playing the role.

Filming on the project began in 2015, with actors like Jamal Woolard and Kat Graham filling out the supporting cast, and Shipp began taking acting classes four times a week to prepare for his performance. As "All Eyez on Me" continued production, Shipp added another project to his small but growing resume, taking on the role of Marcus in the TV movie "#unlock'd" (2016), alongside actors Eden Marquis and Tamiya Cole.