Movies - TV
How Eminem Made Fun Of Anthony Mackie's Real Life In 8 Mile's Final Rap Battle
By J. GABRIEL WARE
Acting 101: Bring yourself to the role, which is exactly what rap legend Eminem did while performing in his one and only starring role in the 2002 semiautobiographical drama "8 Mile." But the "Lose Yourself" rapper took it one step further and brought in the personal life of co-star Anthony Mackie during the movie’s epic final rap battle.
In the final rap battle, Eminem’s B-Rabbit exposes that Papa Doc (Mackie) is not the tough guy he portrays to be, that his real name's Clarence, and he graduated from a prestigious private school called Cranbrook. He reveals he lives in a two-parent home and that "Clarence parents have a real good marriage."
In 2021, Mackie revealed the rapper asked him if he could add some stuff to the script to make Papa Doc more unlikeable. He elaborated that prior to the final battle, Eminem googled him and "He basically makes fun of me as Papa Doc. And then I'm like, 'That's a little personal Mr. Marshall ... I grew up in a nice house, my parents were nice to me, why are you making fun of me?' He literally walked over and said, 'This gonna be dope.'"