So last month, I sat down with Regina and Morris to reflect on the sets they’ve shared, behind-the-scenes laughs on The Best Man: The Final Chapters, and what they’ve learned about each other along the way. Regina Hall: We met at the same time [laughs]! MC: It was on a set of this movie called The Best Man. We were doing a scene — it was a bachelor party scene — and someone comes in and they don’t have any clothes. Her body’s all fine and everything, and it was Regina [laughs]! RH: And I was like, “Oh shit, it’s Morris Chestnut!” I was very excited. My friends were very excited. They had a million questions. MC: We were at a bachelor party scene, and all the guys were very excited for Regina. That was the first time we met. MC: In terms of Regina, the Candy role was very impactful, but it was really just a sliver of what she could do as an actress. To see her career evolve and see just the range of things that she’s done throughout the years, it’s been very, very impressive! Also, being surrounded by such an incredible cast of women. You have so many beautiful women who are in the cast as well, so I think it was just, like, being new and fitting in. There was nervousness, but the excitement was just as big! My brothers seeing it…I think I also thought about my brothers seeing it. My father passed away, but I remember I was like, What are my brothers gonna feel? MC: And what did they say? RH: They were like, “Gina, you had your ass out?” I mean, it was a big deal for my brothers. MC: Yes, she did [laughs]. Yes. She. Did. RH: It was a big deal for my brothers, but yeah, that was a thought that I had. RH: …you learning the dance? MC: [laughs] That was fun! I was just nervous learning that dance, because you know Harold Perrineau is an incredible dancer, and Taye Diggs can really dance — me, not so much…and Terrence Howard, not so much [laughs]. So I was like, “Listen, man, when we gonna get together and do?” Terrence would always miss rehearsal; that’s why, when you actually see the movie, he’s kind of improvising and doing some Michael Jackson stuff. RH: But with full confidence he was doing the dance [laughs]. MC: With full confidence [laughs]! You know T-Howard! RH: It was fun doing the fight scene. It was fun with Melissa De Sousa, especially because we were all together. So the whole house was waking up seeing the craziness of the fight! MC: Yeah, you guys really went for it. They went for it! RH: [laughs] We really did! RH: Yeah, I think it was more just collective time frame, and we were just committing to do it together. It wasn’t about like, “Well, I’m not sure about this if it’s going to be a limited series.” I think we were like, “Oh, okay. Let’s see if we can find four and a half months.” MC: Yes. RH: The window of time was really the issue. Another part of that was when I returned home, and we’re crying in the bed; that was a lot. I don’t know why we did that scene so many times. So at some point, I was just dry. I would just go into the closet, and I was waiting and just listening in the closet. I was just trying to get to a place that I was just emotionally fatigued, but it worked out. But that was the most challenging — the emotional stuff was the most challenging. I think the most rewarding was just seeing the whole thing put together, just the whole cast and the stories, and everybody coming together. That was the most rewarding for me. MC: We don’t. RH: We’re not out late. MC: Well, there was a day when…damn, that’s crazy. God rest his soul. Remember you and Michael K. Williams went out during Mardi Gras? RH: Yeah, we did Mardi Gras! MC: They didn’t invite me, but yeah. RH: Another fun day I remember with Morris, when we were shooting — remember the beignets? MC: Oh yeah! It was the whole bag. RH: We couldn’t stop eating the beignets. MC: They were so nice and warm! RH: Whew, they were good [laughs]. MC: It really is. I don’t think anybody who’s done every single movie that they’ve done have people who have just been waiting to see it. To have a project that spans over the length of time that this has and having people eagerly anticipating seeing it, it’s very rewarding. RH: There’s no words for that. People don’t get to see what that means to us, but it’s why we come back. We get excited. It means so much to us because we want the fans to be happy and satisfied.
