Music mogul and hip-hop producer Dr. Dre ended up being played by actor Corey Hawkins in the hit biopic Straight outta Compton. Originally, one of Dre’s children was considered for the role. But Dre would later veto the casting choice due to his son’s acting background.
Curtis Young Didn’t Know He Was Dr. Dre’s Son Growing Up
Curtis Young is the eldest son of Dr. Dre’s seven children. But growing up, he didn’t know his dad was the hip hop multi-millionaire. Dr. Dre was just 17 when his then-girlfriend Joy Greene was pregnant with Young. After Greene and Dre separated, Young was raised by another man who Greene dated weeks after breaking up with Dre.
Ironically, Young grew up as a fan of hip-hop supergroup NWA. But he didn’t know Dr. Dre was his father until Young’s stepfather revealed the secret during an argument with Greene.
“’Do you want to know who your real dad is? Your real daddy is Dr. Dre,” Young recalled of his stepfather saying in an interview with NextShark.
Young’s stepfather didn’t want him to meet Dr. Dre. But eventually, his stepfather and mother separated, allowing Young to connect with his biological father. After taking a DNA test to confirm the relationship, the two would eventually meet.
“It was like looking in the mirror seeing him face to face. We met at Skybar in Hollywood for the first time. It’s truly indescribable. The best way to describe it is to meet your basketball player or basketball player. favorite football,” Young said. “Just then, it was epic. We sat down and couldn’t stop looking at each other.
Dr. Dre didn’t want his son to play him in ‘Straight Outta Compton’ because of his acting
Young remarked that he was not going to ask his father for gifts. Even after connecting with Dre, Young claimed he asked very little of the mega-producer.
“I’m here to set the record straight about how spoiled I was,” Young said. “That is certainly not the case. I don’t ask my father for anything. I don’t want anything from my father. When I met him it was different. I was a child. He bought me a car and some money, but it was around my birthday. After that, it was just birthdays. I wasn’t asking for handouts,” Young said.
Young adopted this attitude even when he tried to break into the film industry with Straight outta Compton. Straight outta Compton followed the rise of the founding members of the NWA, featuring actors portraying the hip hop legends who made up the group. Actor O’Shea Jackson portrayed his father Ice Cube in the hit 2015 feature film. Young sought to duplicate that cast by also portraying his father, Dr. Dre, in the biopic.
“I actually tried out for the role, because the casting company called me,” Young told XXL. “But my dad wanted someone with more acting experience, and I haven’t acted in a long time, so I’m happy for the guy who got the part.”
Curtis Young struggled to step out of Dr. Dre’s shadow
With his father’s success, Young said it can sometimes be difficult to make a name for himself.
“You can’t get out of this giant’s shadow. So I’m still in his shadow – and because of him I have the Young name and the Foundation – but what I’ve come to understand is that he paved the way for me to go regardless, so I have to market myself as an artist to understand that,” Young said.
Doing so meant exploring opportunities that Young’s father was not involved in.
“And by saying that, I mean I have different entities besides music, so that’s what helped me stay out of his shadow, because I have things that he doesn’t. kinda like how he has the helmet, I have other things,” Young said.