Tre Hale to play Suge Knight in Snoop Dogg biopic

MUMBAI: The Death Row story is getting another verse, and this one has a new face for Suge Knight. Tre Hale, known for Netflix crime series Nemesis, has joined Universal Pictures’ Snoop as the infamous record executive and Death Row Records co-founder.

The biopic, centred on the life and career of rapper and entertainment mogul Snoop Dogg, is heading towards a mid-September production start in and around Los Angeles, with its cast rapidly taking shape.

Jonathan Daviss of Netflix’s Outer Banks is set to play Snoop Dogg, who emerged from Long Beach, California, in the 1990s and went on to become one of rap’s biggest names.

The film’s supporting cast brings several figures from Snoop Dogg’s story to the screen. Myles Bullock Be will portray Dr Dre, Camron Jones will play Tupac Shakur, Algee Smith will portray Warren G, while Lauren London will play Snoop Dogg’s mother.

Hale’s Knight is a particularly pivotal figure in the story. Knight co-founded Death Row Records, the influential label that helped push rap and hip-hop into the mainstream through releases involving Dr Dre, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg.

Death Row’s fortunes later declined, with the high-profile departures of Snoop Dogg and Dre in the late 1990s among the factors that affected the label. Knight was subsequently sentenced to 28 years in prison for manslaughter following a fatal hit-and-run in 2015 near a promotional shoot for Straight Outta Compton.

Snoop is being directed by Craig Brewer and produced by Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer and Allan Mandelbaum, alongside Snoop Dogg and Sara Ramaker, president of Death Row Pictures.

Grazer brings previous experience with music-driven biographical drama, having produced 8 Mile, the semi-autobiographical Eminem film.

For Hale, the role adds another high-profile project to his growing screen résumé. He was a series regular on Apple TV+’s Platonic, appearing opposite Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne, and is also set to feature in the upcoming action thriller Empire City alongside Gerard Butler and Hayley Atwell.

Universal Pictures has scheduled Snoop for theatrical release on August 6, 2027, setting the stage for a big-screen retelling of the rise of one of hip-hop’s most recognisable figures and the record label that helped shape his early career.