All of Tupac's Movies and TV Roles, Ranked From Worst to Best

Jael Rucker
·7 min read
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Sure we know Tupac's legacy as an all-time hip-hop/rap great, lyricist, trendsetter, and iconic figure, but sometimes what doesn't get appreciated enough in the midst of Tupac's greatness is his career as an actor. If you want to get technical, Tupac's introduction to the entertainment industry on a mainstream level came by way of acting before he became one of the top rappers in the game. If you don't exactly agree with that statement, then at the very at least we can all agree that his trajectory to the top happened around the same time in both areas as his debut album 2Pacalypse Now was released on November 12th, 1991, and his first starring role (which has a case for being his most popular), Juice, was released on January 17th, 1992. Some of the best Tupac movies are still some lesser-known highlights from his career.

To have only been 25-years-old at the time of his passing, Tupac certainly accomplished a lot in his short career, which has left an impact that continues on in present day. Today we'll be looking at all of Tupac's movie and TV roles and ranking them.

Let's countdown to the top spot shall we?

Related: How Tupac Redefined Hip-Hop Style

9. Drexell's Class, Season 1 Episode 3 (1992)

Image credit: Fox

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This blurry screenshot is about as good as it's going to get it here people. Drexell's Class was a short lived sitcom that ran on FOX from September 1991 to March 1992. Three episodes into the series, Tupac would make a cameo appearance as himself (he's the one on the far right) with hip-hop group Digital Underground in what is largely an unmemorable appearance due to the fact that you only see Tupac for about thirty seconds—blink and you might miss him. It is, however, cool to see the early 1990s in full effect from the fashion to the music. If you want to see the entire clip of Tupac's appearance you can check it out here.

8. Nothing But Trouble (1991)

Image credit: Warner Bros.

While Tupac didn't have a main role in the 1991 comedy/horror film Nothing But Trouble which starred Demi Moore and Chevy Chase, he did make a small appearance with his Digital Underground group members. While the movie itself wasn't that memorable (it was panned by critics), it is noteworthy in the sense that it was Tupac's film debut. Even though you don't see a lot of Pac (he was mostly just jamming with his bandmates), that star power still shines through.

7. A Different World, Season 6 Episode 21 (1993)

Image credit: NBC

Aside from his undeniable talent, one Tupac's greatest attributes was his charisma, which was on display here. By the time 1993 rolled around, Tupac was already a heavily talked about name in the entertainment industry with two albums under his belt, and a starring role in 1992's Juice. In June 1993, roughly a month before Poetic Justice would premiere in theaters, Tupac appeared on season 6 of A Different World in the episode "Homey, Don't Ya Know Me?" as Lena's (Jada Pinkett-Smith) ex-boyfriend Piccolo, who discovers he doesn't have a lot with Lena and her crew anymore. A nice little appearance by Pac to fuel your nostalgia.

6. Bullet (1996)

Image credit: New Line Cinema

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This film being named Bullet is eerie, and the fact that it premiered just three weeks after Tupac's death is even more eerie. Much like his music, Tupac had multiple movies in post-production status at the time of his death, and one of those was 1996's Bullet. In it, Tupac played a local drug dealer named Tank, who decided to even the street score by sending of his strongest ally after a longtime dealer named Butch (Mickey Rourke) who stole from him. However, Tank discovers that Butch isn't as easy of a target as what he thought. This is a fun role to see Tupac him, and it's sad because it shows just how much more potential he had in film and television.

5. Gang Related (1997)

Image credit: Orion Pictures

Another posthumous film that showed the promise of Tupac as an actor was 1997's Gang Related, which was about two dirty cops Detective Rodriguez (Tupac) and Detective Divinci (Jim Belushi), who accidentally kill an undercover DEA agent. Together they decide to handle the situation by finding a scapegoat (which winds up being a homeless man), which then only leads to more suspicion, chaos, and danger. Once again, another fun late 1990s film that shows the talent of Tupac as an actor.

4. Gridlock'd (1997)

Image credit: Universal Pictures

1997's Gridlock'd showed Tupac challenging the narrative of him only being able to play "the bad guy" or "charming guy," as he starred alongside Tim Roth as two best friends/heroin addicts who enter a detox program as an attempt to get clean after their friend and bandmate Cookie (Thandie Newton) overdoses after trying heroin for the first time. While the plan sounds good at first, the two encounter a series of bureaucratic roadblocks in addition to dealing with withdrawal symptoms, and cops and drug dealers after them. Gridlock'd is a wild ride worth watching if you haven't seen already seen it.

3. Above The Rim (1994)

Image credit: New Line Cinema

Ain't nothing like a good ole 1990s basketball movie, and Above The Rim is one of those memorable hoops flicks from the decade. The film centers around a high school basketball star named Kyle Lee Watson (Duane Martin) torn between his loyalties to a local drug dealer (Tupac), and an ex-player (Just Leon). Tupac was definitely the villain in this film, but not nearly as much of villain as what he was in...we'll get to it shortly.

2. Poetic Justice (1993)

Image credit: Columbia Pictures

Aht Aht! Not yet! Many people have 1993's Poetic Justice as their favorite Tupac film, and it's easy to see why as the movie has created cultural impact and a legacy that only grows with time (you can see this particularly on TikTok). It's a movie that was and still is incredibly important to the Black community as it focuses on young love. Poetic Justice is a mature film, but there's still an innocence to it that only the early 1990s time period could have produced, and that's one of the reasons why it remains so beloved. So we'll cop out by saying Poetic Justice is our number one Janet Jackson movie, not our number one Tupac movie. Slick right?

1. Juice (1992)

Image credit: Paramount Pictures

And our number one Tupac film is, you guessed it, Juice because Bishop (Tupac's character) was the menace of all menaces. The menace to society before Menace II Society even came out. The ultimate betrayer with no remorse. A sociopath so disconnected from reality that he had the nerve to show up to the funeral and hug the mother of the "friend" he killed, all while giving an evil death glare to the other "friend" in his crew who's beginning to suspect him. Just evil.

Yeah Juice is number one in our book.

Related: 'Coming to America' at 35: The Case for it Being Eddie Murphy's Best Film