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Home · News

"Notorious" Cast Photos

"Notorious" Press Junket
By · December 15, 2008October 29, 2020
01
Family Reunion

Filming “Notorious” created an eternal bond for the cast as they brought a vital chapter of hip-hop’s story to the big screen.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

See more photos of hot celebs »

Jennifer Cooper
02
Life After Death

Jamal Woolard makes his acting debut as Christopher “Biggie Smalls” Wallace in “Notorious.”

“Every scene I did I felt I channeled him,” Woolard says.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
03
Circle of Life

“Notorious” will be in theaters January 16th.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
04
The Second Coming

Voletta Wallace says she knew instantly Jamal was meant to play her son on the big screen and told the director, “that’s my son there.”

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
05
Call Me Big Poppa

Jamal says it wasn’t until he gained weight after high school that the Biggie comparisons began.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
06
A Familiar Feeling

The duo developed a close bond with the many similarities between Jamal and Biggie.

“There were days I had goose bumps just watching him,” Voletta Wallace tells ESSENCE.com.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
07
A Mother’s Love

Wallace saw a side of her son she never knew in the film she produced.

“I gained strength from the film,” she says. “I learned acceptance after seeing parts of the film and being disappointed and shocked.”

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
08
Spiritual Connection

Woolard says he sensed the presence of Biggie Smalls throughout filming.

“I felt him in LA, when I was in the same spot exactly [where Biggie was shot.]" he says. “It was too real.”

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
09
Bad Boy

Actor Derek Luke stars as Sean “Puffy” Combs in the film. He spent a week with Combs’s mother to prepare for the role.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
10
Change Clothes

Like his onscreen persona Sean Combs, Derek is excited to design his own clothing line.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
11
Take That

Luke made sure the many sides of Sean Combs were presented.

“I wanted to break down the anatomy of who Puffy was,” he says. “Our generation has so much power and I wanted to show geniuses are not born, they’re made. People smile or laugh at the [shiny suits], but they don’t know it was pre-thought out."

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
12
‘Round the Way Girl

Naturi Naughton makes her acting debut as spitfire sex goddess and rapper Lil’ Kim.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
13
Heart of the Matter

The role was a dream for former 3LW member Naturi, as she brought to life a side of Kim not often seen.

“She’s not just Lil’ Kim. She’s Kimberly Jones,” Naughton tells ESSENCE.com. “She has a human side and I wanted to make sure I brought that human side to life. I wanted to show I could bring out her vulnerability.”

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

See more photos of hot celebs »

Jennifer Cooper
14
Woman to Woman

Antonique has a newfound respect and admiration for Faith Evans.

“The truth was she had more money than him at the beginning, so the rumor that she married him for money doesn’t even make sense,” Smith says. “They really loved each other. She fell in love with him because he was charming and funny, and had an innocence. I’m attracted to that too so I could see what she saw in him.”

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
15
Gotta Have Faith

Newcomer Antonique Smith has much in common with her character Faith Evans, including their New Jersey upbringings and love for singing.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
16
Sex Appeal

Naturi says the role of Lil Kim was a great way for fans to see she is all grown up.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

17
Listen Up

“Pac was a caged bird screaming for somebody to listen and nobody listened,” Anthony Mackie says of his favorite rapper.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
18
Keep Your Head Up

Tupac’s love for Biggie quickly faded after he was shot in New York.

“He was monumentally flawed,” Anthony says of Tupac. “At the same time he had a vision and goal for the hood that people nowadays don’t have.”

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
19
The Pressure

Anthony says playing a complicated character like Tupac requires special care.

“It’s easy to get him wrong and that was a fear of mine. You get Pac wrong and you’ll never live it down. I can’t go to ESSENCE fest,” he says with a laugh.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper
20
People’s Poet

Anthony Mackie stars as Tupac Shakur in the film. The actor previously portrayed Pac in a stage play.

Read our exclusive interview with Voletta Wallace »

B.I.G’s former manager still dealing with loss »

Jennifer Cooper

Read More

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