'Juice' Director Tells How Tupac Got His Role As Bishop

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The life of a budding actor can be a real struggle, heading to audition after audition, not knowing when your big break will come. But that wasn’t the case for Tupac, when he got his first major acting role as Bishop in the 1992 classic, Juice.

In a interview with Academy Originals, the film’s writer and director Ernest Dickerson shared how Pac joined the film’s cast. It turns out, Pac didn’t mean to audition at all. He was just there as moral support for his friend, Naughty By Nature’s Treach, who auditioned for the flick. Dickerson, who was looking for young unknown talent, asked Tupac if he wanted to read for the role of Q (which eventually went to Omar Epps). He did well, but when he read for Bishop, that’s when casting knew he was their man.

It couldn’t have been a stretch for Tupac at that time, considering he attended Baltimore School for the Arts – the same place he met fellow classmate Jada Pinkett. So it’s no surprise that he nailed his impromptu audition.