Nia Long Took A Trip Down Memory Lane To Discuss Some Of Her Most Iconic Films, Like "The Best Man," "Love Jones," And More

Whether she starred successful immoderate of your favourite movies, you heard her being mentioned successful countless rap songs, oregon if you utilized her iconic pixie chopped arsenic inspiration for your adjacent hairdo, you cognize the sanction Nia Long! Ever since she stepped connected the country successful John Singleton's 1991 classical Boyz n the Hood, Nia has been meticulously crafting a vocation filled with memorable characters that not lone made america laughter and inspired us, but besides highlighted the Black acquisition successful each its forms.

Last month, I sat down with the prima to sermon her latest project, The Best Man: The Final Chapters, reuniting with the formed that instantly turned into family, and her past roles that stay cemented successful the hearts of millions.

You were portion of a laundry database of classical films, 1 being your breakout relation arsenic Brandi successful Boyz n the Hood. What stuck retired to you astir that role?

I conscionable retrieve the country wherever Ricky gets changeable and I had to tally crossed the thoroughfare and archer Laurence Fishburne's character. But I hadn't really seen the play of the shooting and what that each looked similar — that iconic country successful the surviving country wherever his assemblage is conscionable there. I retrieve doing the country and not being hysterical enough, due to the fact that I was acrophobic I was going to overact. Laurence Fishburne pulled maine to the broadside and gave maine immoderate adjuvant small tidbits to assistance maine get into the moment. Afterwards helium said, "You did it! That's precisely right. You did it." 

Being a young pistillate and being an ingenue and feeling similar this was each caller to me, it's fantastic due to the fact that I consciousness similar I'm that for young actors arsenic well. So yeah, that was my biggest moment. And conscionable missing my friend, John Singleton. I miss him truthful much. I deliberation helium was 1 of the astir prolific filmmakers of our time. And helium didn't backmost down to what Hollywood oftentimes tried to person him conform to. He was consenting to accidental no, adjacent if it made him enactment less, due to the fact that helium wasn't consenting to bash the things that helium didn't judge in.

Definitely a large influence! What's 1 information fans mightiness not cognize astir the film?

Oh, that we changeable precise adjacent to wherever I was surviving astatine the time. And I was inactive really surviving successful South Central LA erstwhile we did the film. 

Throughout your career, it seems similar you’ve ever prided yourself successful telling stories that highlighted and explored the Black experience. Describe your process for choosing projects.

I consciousness similar sometimes the roles take me, if that makes sense. Whenever I've truly wanted something, it ne'er happens. So, I benignant of conscionable cognize that I'm not successful complaint of that. I person this happening successful maine that says, "I'm being utilized to archer stories, to animate our people, and to service arsenic a voice, truthful I'm going to conscionable spot this process." If I work a publication and I emotion it, and I say, "I've got to bash that," past I'm going to bash it.

When it comes to films oregon shows with a predominantly Black formed oregon that halfway astir Black culture, they’re often pigeonholed into categories similar “Black films” oregon the stars are considered “Blackfamous.” What are your thoughts connected this?

I deliberation presumption similar that clasp america back. And I person to drawback myself sometimes too, due to the fact that I'm precise arrogant of who I am. When I usage the connection Black, I don't usage it arsenic a mode to abstracted ourselves from anyone — I usage it arsenic a mode to enactment an exclamation constituent down our greatness, due to the fact that I don't deliberation that it's ever been celebrated and recognized. But I'm besides a person of mankind and quality beings and accepting of each radical that are good, truthful multiculturalism is arsenic as important to me. But I'm present to correspond who we are and if you privation to travel on for the ride, everyone's welcome!

There was precocious a small statement connected Twitter astir whether Terry from Soul Food was the movie villain oregon hero. Many fans didn't recognize until they were older that Terry was really a bully person. As idiosyncratic who starred successful Soul Food arsenic Terry's sister, however did you consciousness astir her character?

I deliberation she was the brag of the household and I deliberation that she took attraction of business. My begetter passed distant and I had to beryllium that for my family, and everyone is not going to ever beryllium blessed with the choices that you make. But I knew that I was honoring my begetter and honoring my sisters, and I was fair. I didn't request the sound successful my caput portion I was trying to enactment done thing that I had ne'er done before. So, I would accidental Terry's a hero. She stood for thing and she was like, "You whitethorn not similar it, but these are my choices. And this is what's gonna happen." Somebody's got to beryllium the boss, and the brag is not usually the astir likable person.

You starred successful Love Jones alongside Larenz Tate, and the movie has appeared connected respective lists arsenic being 1 of the top romance films of each time. Why bash you deliberation that movie had specified an interaction connected truthful galore people?

Well, determination had been years wherever we conscionable weren't represented arsenic being loved. showing Black love, and being vulnerable. It showed different broadside of who we are — the satellite of spoken connection and that underground Chicago living. That was different mentation of who we are. And Chicago is specified a beauteous city. Cinematically, it was gorgeous! And you had these 2 brown-skin radical that were the lead, and determination was nary colorism successful that film, we were conscionable there. 

I know, for me, arsenic a young woman, I was ever the awkward one. I wasn't airy skinned capable and I wasn't acheronian skinned enough, and I was ever benignant of like, "Which radical bash I cling to?" And we bash that to ourselves. So erstwhile you spot a movie similar Love Jones, and you spot a mentation of each of us, it's like, "Oh, hold a minute. We shouldn't bash that to ourselves. We should conscionable beryllium accepting of each and each mentation of who we are."

Okay, let's displacement our absorption to The Best Man. It debuted successful 1999 and yet turned into a franchise. What was the audition process similar for the relation of Jordan?

I don't deliberation I had to audition. I conscionable retrieve gathering with Malcolm D. Lee astatine a restaurant, having a agelong speech with him, and telling him that helium had a large script. I besides felt truly lucky, due to the fact that I was like, "Oh, this feline is connected to something. He's showing a antithetic subculture wrong our civilization oregon an hold of who we are." It was thing that I could subordinate to conscionable erstwhile I looked astir astatine my radical of friends. 

I conscionable retrieve going, "Oh, I'm truly excited astir this one!" It was thing different, you know? Because successful the '90s, we were telling these hood stories, which were conscionable arsenic as arsenic important, but determination was besides a full radical of radical that weren't being represented. So, it's conscionable bully to beryllium capable to correspond a portion of who we are collectively.

You and the archetypal formed reunited for The Final Chapters connected Peacock — a decision to the galore emotion stories and friendships fans person grown to emotion implicit the years. What made you privation to proceed this story?

I deliberation we beryllium it to the fans. I deliberation we were acceptable to conscionable enactment each the rumors to bed, travel and represent, and archer the last stories. Malcolm had thing other to accidental and we wanted to perceive it. We wanted to beryllium supportive. It's hard to marque a movie and it's hard to marque a tv show, truthful if you person a model of opportunity, I deliberation it's important to conscionable bash it and to proceed wherever you near off.

I've ever referred to this formed personally arsenic the modern time Black Rat Pack, due to the fact that you guys are connected successful truthful galore ways and done truthful galore projects. What was your archetypal absorption erstwhile you realized you guys would beryllium sharing the surface again? And who bash you bent retired with the most?

We were each excited! We came unneurotic and we negotiated together, due to the fact that we are a radical and it's 1 for all, each for one. As for who I bent retired with the most...well, I speech to everyone. it's not adjacent like, who bash I bent retired with the most, but I spell to Taye [Diggs] for definite things, I spell to Sanaa [Lathan] for definite things, Regina [Hall] for definite things, Melissa [De Sousa] for definite things...we each person this connection. If I privation bully advice, I'm gonna telephone Morris [Chestnut]. If I privation to speech astir thing existent New York, I'm calling Melissa. [Laughs] You know, she's a Queens girl. I'm from Brooklyn. 

Regina is like, you know, she gives bully proposal and she's funny. And she doesn't spell out. She's location if you request to scope her [laughs]. If she's not working, she's home. She's similar me, I'm ever home. And past you know, Sanaa's similar a small butterfly. She knows a batch astir a batch of things. She's a Virgo. She's precise superior astir the things that she knows and she volition stock them with you. But you indispensable perceive to her...you indispensable perceive [laughs]. She's precise bossy. She's my bossy friend.

How bash you consciousness astir your character's trajectory passim The Best Man franchise?

I deliberation it's truly real. She's a professional. She's a boss. She's moving a network. That's a batch of unit and stress. We person a fistful of precise beardown Black women successful journalism that we person to protect, support, and regard, and arsenic you know, are peculiar people. Jordan is simply a practice of that. Now she's trying to fig retired however to person each of that, and person a life, and consciousness similar she's taking attraction of herself. Feeling similar she's besides living, you know? Like, "I'm live — uncovering bid and grace and not sacrificing 1 for the other."

We ever request 1 successful the person group.

You gotta person one!

Have you been capable to support thing from TV and movie sets you've worked connected passim your career? If so, what’s your favourite memento that you’ve kept?

Oh, you know what I have? I person my vanity from Love Jones. It's really successful retention close now, due to the fact that I haven't recovered a spot for it.

What has been the astir rewarding and astir challenging happening astir being an actor?

The astir rewarding happening is I really truly emotion what I do. I deliberation the astir challenging is balancing a vocation and being contiguous arsenic a mother, and feeling similar I'm ne'er rather wholly contiguous successful 1 abstraction oregon another. I'm conscionable benignant of winging it sometimes, really, and different times I'm conscionable wholly checked out. But being capable to bash what I emotion and not feeling the unit to support up with anyone, to conscionable bash it my way, and recognize that this is simply a agelong travel that has tons of gifts to support giving [is truly rewarding]. The older I get, the amended I consciousness astir myself. I truly person the assurance and the dependable to correspond myself successful a mode that feels truly authentic. You know, you conscionable support creating and moving connected different projects, and arsenic you bash that, beingness gets sweeter.

Lastly, if you could picture The Final Chapters successful 3 words, what would they be?

Sexy. Crazy. Cool.