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8.
Across four solo albums, six posthumous studio albums, and an astounding 14 posthumous compilation releases, there is certainly enough material on which to judge the music career of Tupac Amaru Shakur. The same can't be said about his career as an actor, however. Even though three movies he starred in were released after he passed away 20 years ago today, on Sept. 13, 1996, it's very clear that we never got to see 2Pac the Actor reach his full potential.
All of the charisma and passion that Pac poured into his music were magnified by his dynamic acting ability. Theater was always a part of Pac’s life. He performed on the Apollo Theater stage at age 12 (in a rendition of A Raisin In the Sun) and attended the renowned Baltimore School for the Arts, where he did Shakespeare and even played the Mouse King in The Nutcracker. That high school is also where he met lifelong friend Jada Pinkett Smith, whom he eventually acted alongside in an episode of A Different World.
While his career as an actor only spanned seven movies, Pac really shined when he hit the big screen. In Poetic Justice, he brought compassion to the role of Lucky, showing a hard-working, common-sense side to inner-city men that Hollywood had been neglecting. As Bishop in Juice, he embodied the cold and sinister side of street life. He even played a detective in his last performance on film, as Jake Rodriguez in Gang Related. With the world looking back at Pac’s legacy 20 years after his death, let's not forget about the reflect on the too-few times we got to see Tupac act. Here, we break down Pac's seven film performances down and rank them from worst to best so you don't have to.
7.Nothing But Trouble (1991)
In Tupac's official silver screen debut, the then up-and-coming rapper made an appearance in Dan Aykroyd's bizarre comedy/horror Nothing But Trouble, performing with his former crew Digital Underground towards the end of the film. If you look closely, you can see him in a Yankee jersey getting hype and singing along as Humpty does his thing on Digital Underground hit "Same Song." Pac's appearance in the film isn't as random as it seems—he was a backup dancer/collaborator for the group during the early days of his career—even if it is short-lived. There's not a ton to say about this brief cameo, but it did serve as Tupac's introduction into the film world, and for that it deserves some points. —Angel Diaz
6.Gang Related (1997)
Tupac’s last film appearance was in the 1997 crime drama Gang Related. In a cosmically bittersweet way, it was the perfect swan song to his reputable but short film career. His character, crooked vice detective Jake Rodriguez, embodied the full range of humanity that Pac displayed as one of the most formidable, fearless voices in the history of music.
Gang Related is a two-hander that centers on Rodriguez and his morally bankrupt partner Frank Divinci (Jim Belushi). These cops operate above the law, engaging in murder, drug trafficking and extortion for their own financial motivations. Their corrupt world quickly comes crumbling down when a mark they murder turns out to be a deep-cover DEA agent. Belushi remains singularly ruthless as he tries to cover his ass, while Pac—who certainly has blood on his hands—begins to succumb to feelings of guilt and remorse.
In his subtle performance, we bear witness to the gamut of emotions and contradictions that made Pac such a complex and fascinating artist and human being. There’s a tenderness and vulnerability, a paranoia and volatility, and a comedic, carefree magic to Rodriguez, a man caught in a quicksand of his own design. —Erik Abriss
5.Above the Rim (1994)
In this role, Shakur expanded on the dark side he flashed work as Bishop in Juice to play Above the Rim's villain, Birdie, a street hustler who moonlights as a streetball team sponsor. Birdie tries to court the movie’s main character, Kyle Lee Watson (played by Duane Martin), to play for his team—until Birdie’s estranged older brother, Shep (played by Leon), starts to date Kyle's mom and steps in as a father figure. Tupac was able to encompass the ruthless drug dealer role perfectly—a bully drunk with power, willing to eliminate all threats in his way. —Angel Diaz
4.Bullet (1996)
In February of 1996, Tupac unleashed All Eyez On Me, a fiery, hostile double-disc that found the rapper-actor luxuriating in his role as the bad guy. Full of threats and war-ready posturing, Pac reveled in being America’s public enemy number one; America had always treated him as persona non grata to begin with. “My attitude is fuck it, ‘cause motherfuckers love it,” he rapped on "Ambitionz Az A Ridah." Pac was declarative—you will say hello to the bad guy.
That same year, Pac carried that same bloodlust to the silver screen in the crime thriller Bullet, also starring Mickey Rourke. The film features one of Pac’s most over-the-top performances in his filmography. He plays Tank, a Brooklyn drug kingpin who seeks revenge against Bullet after loyalties are betrayed amid a turf war.
As a heavy, Tank is cartoonish, thinly drawn, and comes and goes throughout the movie. He wears an eye-patch and gaudy chains that make him look like a mixture of Slick Rick and Snake Plissken from Escape From New York. But Pac uses his minimal screen time to maximum effect. He manages to ground this caricature of a villain—one who uses a little kid as a human shield during a shoot-out—in an authenticity that is equal parts ferocious and funny. Pac is clearly having a blast in this role. It’s a testament to his charisma and commanding presence that in a film featuring Rourke, Adrian Brody, and Peter Dinklage, all eyes really were on Pac. —Erik Abriss
3.Poetic Justice (1993)
“Why you always so mad?” Tupac’s Lucky asks Janet Jackson’s Justice during his first appearance in John Singleton’s Poetic Justice. “You must ain’t got no man 'cause you don’t never smile.” Only Tupac Shakur could (passively) tell a woman she should smile more and make it somewhat redeemable.
At the core of Poetic Justice are the interactions between emotionally adrift 20-somethings. Jackson is the movie's lead, but Tupac is its heart. As Lucky, he’s charming and repugnant; volatile and vulnerable. His performance reflects the same dissonant, yet sincere range of emotions heard on "Keep Ya Head Up" and "Holler If Ya Hear Me" from his Strictly 4 My N****Z album, released five months before the film. This restlessness marked Tupac's scenes with Jackson, as well as his archetypal Gemini existence off-camera. —Julian Kimble
2.Gridlock'd (1997)
One of the enduring digs against Tupac is that he started to embody the self-destructive chaos of Bishop, who he played in Juice, until his own demise. Many of his other performances, while still strong, were overshadowed by his persona. He was always playing someone similar to himself. Gridlock’d, one of Pac’s final roles, was his first true deviation.
As Spoon, an aptly-titled heroin addict, he’s one-third of a struggling, drug-addled musician trio along with Stretch (Tim Roth) and Cookie (Thandie Newton). He’s also the least aimless; it’s at his suggestion that they stumble along the path to recovery. Throughout, Tupac is brilliant, funny, touching, and heartbreaking, painting Spoon as a tragic glimmer of hope beset by an otherwise hopeless situation.
In an interview on the set of Gridlock’d, Tupac said he was drawn to Spoon because he wanted to pursue different types of roles. These days, the movie is a difficult watch, because Gridlock’d—arguably his most powerful performance—is a glimpse of Tupac's true potential as an actor. —Julian Kimble
1.Juice (1992)
Bishop, you're crazy!
You know what? Last time you said that, I was kinda trippin', right? But now, you're right. I am crazy. And you know what else? I don't give a fuck.
When Juice dropped, the world realized that Tupac Shakur was for real. This wasn't a vanity role, or filmmakers looking for a gimmicky way to drum up interest in their film; Pac could act. Released a year following his debut film role, in which he was credited as “Digital Underground member” in Nothing But Trouble, Pac transformed himself—perhaps a little too convincingly—into the sinister Roland Bishop, who was drunk off the power of the gun and filled with anger at his enemies, both real and perceived: the police, rival crews, bodega owners, his former friends. Tupac perfectly channeled all of the frustration of growing up poor and black in the inner city into a powder-keg performance, and highlighted how that cocktail could turn even the brightest minds cold. As terrifyingly ruthless as Bishop was, Pac's charm and wit were still on full display—you simply can't take your eyes off him. But the biggest surprise was the way he fully gave himself over to the role, showing a fire and passion that would become the centerpiece of his lasting legacy, both on camera and on the mic. —khal