(AllHipHop News) Actor Demeterius Shipp Jr. has no interest in playing Tupac Shakur again after portraying the rapper in “All Eyez On Me.”
The aspiring star, whose eerie resemblance to the dead rap star helped him land his breakout role as the hip-hop legend in the new biographical movie, insists he’ll be one and done as his fellow Californian.
“This is the foot in the door, in a major way,” he tells TMZ. “This is a stepping stone, something to build from, (but) the next role (I take on) is essential (for me) to be known as Demetrius Shipp, the actor, rather than Tupac.”
Despite his reservations about playing the rapper again in a future film, Demetrius is proud of “All Eyez on Me” and he is excited about the great buzz the biopic is receiving.
“It’s an amazing feeling,” he smiles. “The reception has been great, I’m happy about that and I’m just ready for the world to see it.”
“All Eyez on Me,” which also stars “The Walking Dead” actresses Danai Gurira and Lauren Cohan, as well as “The Vampire Diaries” star Kat Graham, made its red carpet debut in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.
Some of the rap industry’s biggest names, including Kendrick Lamar, Russell Simmons, 2 Chainz, Big Boi, E-40, MC Hammer, and Tupac’s former collaborators DJ Quik, Shock G and his mentor Leila Steinberg, appeared at the screening.
The star-studded night concluded at the nearby Hammer Museum, where guests attending the screening after-party danced well into the night to some of the late California Love rapper’s tracks while sipping Alize cocktails.
“All Eyez on Me” will be released in U.S. theaters on Friday (June 16), on what would have been Tupac’s 46th birthday.