Hollywood actress Nia Long has revealed that she almost passed on her role in the 1991 movie Boyz ‘N’ The Hood, one of the most iconic characters of her career.
In the movie, which served as the directorial debut of the late, great, John Singleton, Long played Brandi — the love interest of main character Tre, played by Cuba Gooding Jr.
Rapper Ice Cube, Morris Chestnut, Laurence Fishburne, Regina King, and Angela Bassett also star in the film.
“I didn’t know it was special,” Long told People TV. “When I first got the script, I immediately thought, ‘Some white guy’s gonna try to make a movie about the life that I’ve lived. I don’t even want to have anything to do with it.'”
She then says that after learning that Singleton was Black, she changed her tune.
“I’m very protective of my culture and where I’m from,” she said. “And they’re like ‘No, no he’s Black.’ I was like, ‘Well, where’s he from? What part of town?'” she told the publication in a fit of giggles. “When I met John [I understood], he really does understand the Black experience, and I miss him dearly.”
Singleton made history with the flick by becoming the first African American ever nominated for best director at the Oscars. He died on April 28, 2019, two weeks after suffering from a stroke.
Long was one of the few celebrities who attended memorial service at the Angelus Funeral Home in South Los Angeles, formerly known as South Central.
