Sanaa Lathan Dishes On “Shots Fired” & More!
We caught up with stunning (and super sweet) A-list actress Sanaa Lathan at Lincoln’s extravagant “Luxury Is…” experience in L.A. where she opened up about her highly anticipated FOX mini-series Shots Fired, Best Man 3, staying 40-FINE and more with a beautifully breezy energy that made us fall in love with her all over again.
After a strong 20 years in the game, she’s done everything you can do as a talented Black actress in whitewashed Hollyweird and switched it up with a major mini-series that’s an absolute must-see.
“It’s created by the creator of Love & Basketball and it’s a 10-hour mini-series movie and it’s all set in the world of Black Lives Matter. And it’s a mystery thriller and it’s gonna be so hot and people are gonna be on the edge of their seats and it’s relevant and it’s topical to what’s going on in our country today… I play a woman named Ashe Akino and she’s an investigator and I have to go into this world and solve these crimes that have to do with what we’re dealing with today so I’m excited for the world to see that!”
She also exclusively dished on her upcoming blockbuster that sounds like an easy $500 milli at the box office.
“I just got back from London shooting a movie called American Assassin with Michael Keaton and a really amazing young actor named Dillon O’Brian and it’s similar to the Jason Bourne type of movies in that it’s based on a big book series that’s very popular…these books, there’s like, yanno…several…like, teens…like fifteens of books and one of the things that’s great about this is that my character–Irene Kennedy–is a white woman in the books so this is like a big franchise movie and they hired me, as a Black woman, to play a white woman character.”
Sanaa has played everything from a vampire superhero’s mother to the most hated female character in Tyler Perry movie history (The Family That Preys), but it’s her unappreciated role in Alien Vs. Predator that got us cackling like old friends.
“I’m an actress and I love playing all different types of characters… I don’t discriminate between genres so I love doing that, it was hard work regardless of what you thought of the movie… it was a grueling, challenging, FUN experience for me
-Bossip: And you survived!-
“*laughs* I survived as a Black woman…they slept on (Alien Vs. Predator) because, at that time, especially, every Black person in every scary movie was getting killed immediately and I not only survived, I was the last survivor and that’s part of the reason I wanted to do it. I was like ‘oh, I’m not gonna be another pawn in this movie that dies first or second…”
For months, there were loud whispers about the third and final chapter of the beloved Best Man franchise but, according to Sanaa, it’s…not a go just yet.
“We don’t have a start date for Best Man because everybody from Terrence to me, Nia, Taye we’re all doing…Regina…we’re all doing different things right now. The script is not quite finished. There’s been a lot of press which I love because it means people are excited but, no, we haven’t filmed it yet so who knows when that’s gonna happen. Fingers crossed.”
Of course she touched on how she deals with industry rumors and gossip (that we’ve sometimes posted).
“It goes with the territory you just gotta roll with it. I mean, sometimes it gets to you and, yanno, sometimes you laugh, sometimes it’s like UGH! It’s a kick in the stomach but, you know what, it’s part of the territory. I learned a loooong time ago from my mother if they’re not talkin about you then you aint doin nothin”
You know we couldn’t let Sanaa go without asking how she stays 40-FINE at 45.
“I think that beauty comes from inside and when you’re truly happy and you’re passionate about your life, it shines through. Period, end of story. And obviously we have to do things like take care of ourselves, the more you take care of yourself, the better you feel and the better you look.”
Shots Fired premieres TONIGHT on FOX at 8 pm!
Source: bossip.com
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