Notorious B.I.G.'s son Christopher Wallace JR. will play his own father in a forthcoming movie about the rap legend.

The 12 year old, whose mother is singer Faith Evans, plays his dad as a child in some scenes in Notorious, alongside actor Jamal Woolard. Rapper Woolard, also known as Gravy, portrays Biggie in his 20s.

And Wallace Jr. - who was just four months old when his dad was gunned down in 1997, aged just 24 - found the experience helped him learn more about his late father.

During a chat with his grandmother Violetta Wallace, in the December issue of Interview magazine, the young actor says, "My mum told me some of the stuff he used to do. Like how he rubbed his nose sometimes. And then I got some of my character's scenes six or seven months before we actually shot the film, so I went over that stuff a lot."

He was even told to tap into his own feelings for the father he never knew, to help him get emotional in scenes: "My acting coach said I should think about if he was alive, how I miss him, and I really got into it."

And Wallace Jr. has definite plans to follow his father's footsteps, once he has finished his education. He adds, "(I'll) probably (go into rap). But I want to go to college. And I want to graduate and study film."