"Straight Outta Compton" Turns 10: See the Cast Members Side-by-Side with the Real-Life Rappers They Played
AJ Pics/alamay; Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Straight Outta Comptonpremiered on Aug. 14, 2015 The film follows the rise of rap group N.W.A, made up of Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella Ice Cube's oldest son, O'Shea Jackson Jr., portrayed him in the movie It's been a decade sinceStraight Outta Comptonhit theaters — and cranked the volume all the way up for viewers. The biopic, which premiered on Aug. 14, 2015, follows the rise of the rap group N.W.A in the late 1980s and early 1990s as they use their raw, unapologetic music to address police brutality, gang violence and systemic racism. Members of N.W.A includedEazy-E,Dr. Dre,Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella. Straight Outta Comptonwas a hit at the box office, raking in more than $200 million worldwide, perBox Office Mojo. The film also went on to earn anOscarnomination and 2016BET Awardfor Best Movie. "Not to sound cliché, but we worked really, really hard to get this on the screen," director F. Gary Gray told PEOPLE in December 2015. "It took us years to find this cast, and we put them througha lotto deliver those performances, and they delivered." Ahead, see the cast side-by-side with their real-life counterparts, 10 years after the film's premiere. 01 of 10 Alamy; Al Pereira/Getty/Michael Ochs Archives O'Shea Jackson Jr.portrayed his dad, Ice Cube, inStraight Outta Compton, but he wasn't simply offered the role. "They put me through the wringer. For two years, I was going to acting classes, learning techniques, going to auditions, callbacks," he told PEOPLE in August 2015. "When you haven't acted before, it's a big dish." "But I couldn't sit in a theater and think someone is portraying my father the wrong way. If I was thinking, 'Oh, he wouldn't have done that,' it would've nauseated me," Jackson Jr. continued. As for Ice Cube, he always knew his son was right for the job. "I wanted him to play the role, but I didn't want him to act or mimic. I gave him all the ammunition I could as far as what I was thinking in the past, and I just let him go for it," the rapper said, speaking toLAistin August 2015. "He knows me, and he did a magnificent job." 02 of 10 AJ Pics/alamay; Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Corey Hawkins played Dr. Dre in the 2015 biopic — and he had the rapper's approval from day one. "He was heavily involved in it all," Hawkins toldThe Knockturnalin August 2015. "We had dinner, [and] he said, 'You're the man for the job, so don't worry about anything else. Take all the noise out your head and just get in there and capture what N.W.A represented.' " He continued, "It was no easy task for sure, but huge shout out to F. Gary Gray because he gave me all the tools that I needed. He and Dre. They were there every single day on set." Dr. Dre has stressed how important it was to him to cast "new, talented, Black artists" in the film. "We didn't want to go out and get the typical Black actors that are out there doing their thing. They would've made it feel funny, and possibly a little fake," he said in abehind-the-scenes clip. 03 of 10 AJ Pics/alamay; Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Jason Mitchellportrayed the late Eazy-E. However, he wasn't the only one who wanted the role — Lil Eazy-E, a.k.a.Eazy-E's oldest son, also auditioned for the part. However, Lil Eazy-E didn't let his feelings get in the way of helping Mitchell prepare for the role. The actor toldVladTVin June 2023 that Lil Eazy was instrumental in setting up interviews with family members and was a regular on set. "He really supported me," Mitchell said. "I got a lot of respect and love for that dude." In the end, Lil Eazy-E toldVladTVin February 2016 thatStraight Outta Comptonwas a "great movie." 04 of 10 AJ Pics/alamay; Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Neil Brown Jr.jumped at the opportunity to play DJ Yella. "I grew up listening to N.W.A. To be a part of the film in any capacity was a dream come true," he toldTrainwreck'd Societyin November 2014, adding that he intensely prepped for the role. "I spent time with the real Antoine "Yella" Carraby [and] asked as many questions as I could think of," Brown Jr. continued. "I immersed myself in the time period that they came up in, and what their music meant to the world and to themselves. It was a beautiful experience. I pray we did them justice." While speaking toBonafide Magazinein October 2015, DJ Yella said he was "satisfied, completely" with the result. 05 of 10 AJ Pics/alamay; Al Pereira/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Aldis Hodgeplayed MC Ren, and the actor quickly learned that the pair were similar in a lot of ways. "We talked, and I realized that we had similar synergy," Hodge said onSway's Universeradio show in February 2016. "Our energy was the same tone. There was a similarity there, and I understood why I was thought of to play him." Although Ren was part of N.W.A, his character took a backseat in the film — so much so that he didn't appear in the trailer. In June 2015, Ren vented onXthat Universal Pictures was "tryin to rewrite history," but after the premiere, he congratulated the cast and crew onX. 06 of 10 JB Lacroix/FilmMagic; Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty LaKeith Stanfieldportrayed Dr. Dre's protégé,Snoop Dogg, after rapperNipsey Hussle originally turned down the role. Stanfield was criticized for not looking like Snoop, but he told the hosts ofThe Breakfast Clubradio show in November 2016 that he was "happy" with his performance. "[I'm] not the poster child for Snoop. I feel like I did what was necessary, we got the job done," he added. 07 of 10 J. Countess/FilmMagic; Robert Mora/Getty R. Marcus Taylor played Suge Knight, who co-founded Death Row Records with Dr. Dre. During an August 2022 interview withVladTV, Taylor shared that director F. Gary Gray instructed him to stay in character at all times while on set. "He comes up to me and he tells me, 'I want you to be a method actor. I want you to be Suge on set at all times,' " he recalled. "My first thought is I don't want to be rude, but I did what he said." Knight was reportedly not pleased with his portrayal in the film. In August 2017, he was indicted for threatening to kill or seriously injure Gray, the film's director, perThe New York Times. Knight pleaded not guilty to the charges, which were later dismissed as part of a plea deal in a separate hit-and-run case linked toStraight Outta Compton. In September 2018, Knight was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter of Heavyweight Records co-founder Terry Carter, perNBC News. The incident had occurred three years prior in January 2015, when Knight plowed his red Ford Raptor pickup into Carter and Cle "Bone" Sloan, a technical adviser onStraight Outta Compton.The duo were outside Tam's Burgers stand in Compton, Calif., as filming for a promotional video for the movie happened nearby. 08 of 10 Stefanie Keenan/Getty; Raymond Boyd/Getty In his first-ever movie role, Marlon Yates Jr. portrayed rapper The D.O.C. — another co-founder of Death Row Records. In June 2015, Yates Jr. told615 Filmthat it was both a "dream come true" and "intimidating" to be on set with the likes of Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, the latter of whom took the actor under his wing. "Dre and I had a personal conversation about The D.O.C. and his speech impediment because his vocal cords collapse[d], and they show that in the film," Yates Jr. recalled. "And I had to practice the voice with Dr. Dre off to the side before we shot the scenes." In March 2023, The D.O.C. told theBoss Talk 101podcast that he "supported" the film. "If they liked it, I loved it," he said. 09 of 10 Corine Solberg/FilmMagic; Frederick M. Brown/Getty Carra Patterson played Eazy E's now-widow, Tomica Wright. While appearing onPower 105.1in July 2019, Patterson said that Wright was "really pleased" with her performance inStraight Outta Compton. "When we met at the wrap party, [Tomica] said she saw everything and loved it, and that was all that mattered. I got two thumbs up from the queen herself," the actress shared. 10 of 10 Phillip Faraone/WireImage; SGranitz/WireImage Alexandra Shippportrayed Ice Cube's now-wife,Kimberly Woodruff. The actress shared her admiration for Woodruff in a January 2015 interview withHipHollywoodin 2015. "I actually got to meet Kim. [It] was cool being able to meet someone you're playing," Shipp told the outlet. "She is the dopest woman ever, and you can totally tell that she is [Ice Cube's] partner." 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"Straight Outta Compton" Turns 10: See the Cast Members Side-by-Side with the Real-Life Rappers They Played AJ Pics/alamay; Al Per...
