Nia Long recently sat down with The Hollywood Reporter for an insightful and transparent interview.
The incomparable actress talked about everything including “The Best Man: The Final Chapters,” why she doesn’t want to do a Love Jones sequel, why she walked off of the set of a film for the first time in her 36-year career, and how Ime Udoka‘s Boston Celtics scandal impacted their son.
Read 9 insightful and transparent quotes from the legendary actress below.
Nia Long on “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” limited series, which premieres on Peacock on December 22:
I guess all good things must come to an end, but I also feel like this isn’t just about these characters.
It was a decade of culture that we contributed to and that we inspired. I’ve spent a lot of time inspiring others, which has been a blessing in my career, but I would like to feel more inspired by the projects that come my way and the things that I work on.
I’m a very different woman today from who I was when people first met Jordan. I wasn’t a mom yet, and I was trying to figure out what it meant to be a woman and have a career.
It was like I was peeking into my womanhood. And now, I think I’m there.
Nia on why she doesn’t want to do a Love Jones sequel:
I think one of the things that made that film so beautiful was that we were both so young and there was just this unfiltered approach to the work.
I would hate to disappoint anyone by trying to redo it or add another installment and then it just not be good.
Sometimes lessons are easy and others are tough.
Nia Long shared the lesson she learned after Fatal Affair, co-starring Omar Epps, flopped and got slammed by critics.
I’m learning to be a little bit more selective.
I think some of my biggest mistakes in life have come from me assuming that other people would do what I would do or have the same understanding of something that I have.
So that’s my bad.
Nia opened up about walking off the set of a project for the first time in her 36-year career.
It broke my heart to have to do it because that’s not who I am, but I knew that I needed to do it because it didn’t feel good in my belly.
I felt like everything that was natural and organic for me wasn’t what they wanted, and I wasn’t willing to compromise what felt true for me.
When I got on the plane to go home, I was so proud of myself, because the days of being on the battlefield unnecessarily are over.
I just don’t have the capacity to hold that space anymore. It felt like not only was I supported by my fellow castmate who was Black and who had a clear understanding of what I felt strongly about, but there was also this sense that the business I have to deal with at home is more important to me than teaching a white director-producer how to tell a Black story.
While Nia chose not to speak on Ime Udoka’s infidelity or the current status of their relationship, she did share how his scandal impacted their 11-year-old son Kez.
I went home to be with my son, and that was what was most important to me, because he was not having an easy time.
I think the most heartbreaking thing about all of this was seeing my son’s face when the Boston Celtics organization decided to make a very private situation public.
Nia revealed that she took Kez out of school when the news broke.
It was devastating, and it still is. He still has moments where it’s not easy for him.
She also shared her disappointment in the Celtics organization.
If you’re in the business of protecting women — I’m sorry, no one from the Celtics organization has even called to see if I’m OK, to see if my children are OK.
It’s very disappointing.
The media blitz was rough on Nia.
She said, “I literally felt like my heart had jumped out of my body.”
And then what I found was this tribe of women and men who were standing up for me in a way that felt like I was in this bubble of protection, and that was very comforting.
Nia Long shared that after the Oscars slap she checked on both Will Smith, who she co-starred with in “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” and her friend Chris Rock.
I checked on him and Chris, because I’m friends with both of them.
That was hard for me, because those are like my brothers, both of them.
And I guess my prayer is that they can come to a place where they can at least be civil with one another and make peace.
In addition to “The Best Man: The Final Chapters,” in 2023, Nia Long is set to star in Missing alongside Storm Reid, and You People, an ensemble comedy with Eddie Murphy, Jonah Hill, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
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