Music biopics try to keep it real

There's method acting, and then there's what Brooklyn-born rapper Jamal Woolard endured to become Biggie Smalls for "Notorious," the recently released biopic detailing the life (and untimely death) of Christopher Wallace, also known to the hip-hop world as the Notorious B.I.G. Woolard's tales of "Biggie Bootcamp," his immersion into Biggie's predilections and physical tics, guided by the late rapper's friends and family, have earned admiration from both fans and cineastes.

But none of his stories about gaining weight, guzzling Pepsi or donning Coogi sweaters turns out to be as relevant as the one about the cotton balls.

Inspired by Marlon Brando in "The Godfather," Woolard expanded his jowls with gauze. The act proved crucial because it changed his rhyming flow.

"Biggie had a breathing pattern that was enormous," said Woolard by phone. "Also, he had asthma. So we had to study that. I did things like hold my tongue -- it's an exercise that gives you more clarity. And his tongue lay down on the bottom of his mouth. When you put cotton balls in your mouth it causes that."

Woolard faced a challenge particular to actors portraying musicians -- a club that's rapidly growing with the recent uptick in musical biopics. Such roles demand more than sensitive mimicry. Whether lip-syncing or actually performing, as most now do, actors must tap into their own musicality and align it with the style of the stars they play.

In the age of YouTube, the task is trickier than ever. Artists like Biggie aren't half-forgotten heroes -- they live on in videos, performance clips and other archival footage available for viewing at any time on any computer.

Not so long ago, actors could riff on a myth. The carnal innocence of Val Kilmer's depiction of Jim Morrison in "The Doors" or the strength through which Angela Bassett -- who plays Biggie's mother Voletta Wallace in "Notorious" -- channeled Tina Turner in "What's Love Got to Do With It" emerged through attention to detail, but the stakes are higher now. An artist's fans and fellow travelers easily can call out inauthenticity. For that reason, and also because they themselves are drawn in by pop's rich archive, actors and directors are creating music in films that eerily echo the original recordings.