Willie Nelson Inspires Actor Playing Notorious B.I.G.

Actor Jamal Woolard will play the lead in 'Notorious,' the upcoming biopic based on the life of the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. So what does that bit of Hollywood casting news have to do with country music? Quite a bit, actually.

The actor/rapper says he owes getting the part to none other than Willie Nelson. Woolard tells Giant magazine that in looking for something to give himself an advantage over other hopefuls for the title role, he found it in Willie's music.

"At the casting, I seen a million people that looked like Biggie, but I ain't see not one person with a Willie Nelson CD but me," said Wollard. "{Biggie's] mother listened to Willie, and that's how he would think of hooks. I'm not really stuck on Willie Nelson, but I felt like I needed to listen to him for at least an hour a day."

No plans to include a rap version of 'On the Road Again' in the film, however.