Sanaa McCoy Lathan is an American actress and voice actress. She has starred in many films, including the box-office hits The Best Man and the 2013 sequel, Love & Basketball, Brown Sugar, Alien vs. Predator and The Family That Preys. Lathan Caples was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance on Broadway in A Raisin in the Sun. In 2010, she starred in the all-black performance of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre in London.
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» All Actor InterviewsHi everyone, this is Sanaa Lathan. I’ll be here answering your questions starting at 2:30pm PT / 5:30pm ET.
Don’t forget to check out my new movie The Perfect Guy in theaters now!
Check out my new song, out today "Emotional"
https://soundcloud.com/detailgo/detailsanaa-lathandej-loaf
https://instagram.com/sanaalathan/
https://twitter.com/justsanaa
https://www.facebook.com/SanaaLathan
PROOF: https://twitter.com/justsanaa/status/643567866147540992
EDIT: THANK YOU GUYS! THIS WAS AMAZING! I will definitely be back soon! Much love <3
If they made one, what would you like to see in Love and Basketball 2?
I love that people want to see L&B2, but I don't think it's going to happen. I think people should decide what happens with Monica and Quincy themselves and let it live on in their imagination. I think the story is complete with Love and Basketball.
Will you continue to make more music? And do you have plans to release Emotional for purchase? Loved The Perfect Guy! You're my fave actress. Congrats on everything!
Oh, thank you so much. It was just a fluke, I was visiting friends in the studio. I was telling them about the movie, The Perfect Guy, and Detail the producer - he produced Drunk In Love for Beyonce and How To Love for Lil Wayne, he was making a joke about The Perfect Guy he said he must be emotion, he asked if I sing and I said just in the shower and he said he wanted to write a song for me. My best friend of 20 year she passed away suddenly last year, it completely changed my whole perspective about life and living and got me into the mindset that life is precious and now is precious. You have to step outside of your comfort zone. It was scary for me to record the song, but it came out pretty good and I was happy about the result. I couldn't believe we got Dej Loaf, we didn't even know when it was going to be released. And Detail released it on Soundcloud the day The Perfect Guy opened and I am just as amazed and shocked as anyone else. Who knows what the future holds, I don't have aspirations, acting is my passion. I dont know what his plans are for making it for purchase but I'm going to let him take the lead, we'll see.
Am I the perfect guy? No? Okay, then how does one become the perfect guy?
First of all, I don't think anyone is perfect, there's no perfect woman, no perfect man, by virtue of being human we're imperfect. I think there are people who can be great matches for each other. For me, its really just, I don't have a physical type, I like people from the inside out who they are on the inside. 3 things that are important: sense of humor, I like to laugh every day and I have to have someone I can laugh with, and somebody who is confident because I think its definitely inot as easy as people think to be in a relationship and have a love scene with Morris Chestnut one day and Michael Ealy the next, and someone who likes to communicate cause I'm a talker and I like to communicate.
If you had to choose between Michael Ealy & Morris Chestnut, who would you pick and why?
I think, I like dark chocolate and caramel, I like it both. I take both.
How was it working on Blade? Was just watching it yesterday and... You haven't aged a bit... Are you a Vampire queen?
Well thank you, so much! They say black don't crack! LOL! That was really exciting for me, that was one of my first big movies. I'd just done a couple of guest starring roles and TV shows before that. To be in a big movie and such a juicy role with Wesley Snipes was a dream come true. It was really fun to put on those fangs and wear those sexy clothes!
Hi, Sanaa! Thanks for doing this AMA. Two questions: 1) What was your favorite experience filming Alien vs. Predator? 2) Do you absolutely enjoy playing tough and strong female characters?
Hmm, my favorite experience on AvP, it was really exciting to get that role. We shot it in Prague and I was there for 6 months. That was really exciting to live in such a beautiful city. I'd never been there, the architecture is so pristine and beautiful, the people so diverse from all over Europe. That was a great time. It was a tough shoot because acting terror and fear can be very, very exhausting. If you're acting with a green screen and nothing is there its a challenge. I was very happy with the outcome and I'm happy people enjoyed it. Yes absolutely, I do enjoy strong and tough characters and I enjoy weak and vulnerable character to. To me, the fun of acting is being able to be play the whole spectrum of what we endure as human beings and the challenges of that. I want to step into the character's shoes and view the world through their perspective, that's really my passion.
How do you like your steak?
Well done.
Being that you are always in the public eye, what is one of your rituals or routines that you must do to find peace within yourself in such a chaotic profession?
A side from Sanaa Lathan, the actress, what is one thing about Sanaa, the woman, that you would like the world to know or understand about her?
Well for me, I've always had a spiritual base. I had a spiritual mentor and checked in with her on a weekly basis for many. I have great family and friends. I have a tight group that are very close to me, they kept me grounded. Life is pretty simple in between movies. The only time I feel like a celebrity is when I'm doing press. In between movies, its a very normal life. After my best friend died last year, I went through emotional anxiety and it really rocked my world in a different way. I started doing TM (transcendental meditation) Russell Simmons gave me the gift of a teacher and I 've been doing that - I feel like its changed everything for me, its almost like a veil has been lifted.
Sanaa, you are a role model for me!! How do you see yourself as a role model to other people?
How do I see myself? I just try to be the best person I can be. I make mistakes sometimes, I'm not perfect I just do the best I can and try to do the best work I can.
I loved you as Michelle Landau in Nip/Tuck, which was your experience working with Ryan Murphy, and would you work with him again in his current work? (American Horror Story, Scream Queens)
Yea, he's a really creative genius and every week was a challenge. The script was the best that I'd ever experienced in TV, what a great role. I love that he creates multidimensional roles for women. I had a blast.
Hey Sanaa, Who was your favorite actress growing up?
My mother did the original Timbuktu on Broadway and The Wiz on Broadway, so I'd be backstage. She and Eartha Kitt had a close relationship she took my mother under her wing I was around her a lot and I watched her onstage and her perform and I was in awe of her beauty and talent. So I would have to say Eartha Kitt.
Which movie do you think is your best work and why?
That's not for me to say - when I do a movie, wrap and finish the character, I really let it go mentally and I rarely look back. So, that's for the world to decide.
What can you tell us about your role in Now You See Me 2?
I play FBI Agent Natalie Austin and I'm Mark Ruffalo's younger boss. So I was in the academy I looked up to him and I wind up becoming his boss. I'm trying to take down these magicians who are masterminding this heist.
What was it like starring with Matthew Broderick in Wonderful World? I love him as an actor and I also hear he's a very gentle and sweet man.
Well you are correct, he was very gentle sweet and surprisingly super funny in this subtle way, he was great. It was a great shoot. We shot in New Oreleans and I love that city, I love the culture I love the food. I had a great time.
How would you compare yourself to Leah personality wise? And would you have handled the situation differently?
I am similar to Leah in that I am a very driven woman who has a passion for her career. I think I probably would not have pressured Morris Chestnut's character. I probably would have been more patient, if I thought he was the one. I would not have pressured him into marriage. I'm not really into ultimatums.
A couple of years ago I watched The Best Man with my wife randomly one afternoon and loved it so much we ran to the theater to see The Best Man Holiday. Do you think you all would be interested in another sequel in several years?
I hope so, there's a script and its called Best Man Wedding. We all come together for a wedding, it's been tough getting everyone together thought. Fortunately everyone is working, unfortunately its hard to make everyone's schedule work, so we shall see.
You said that you like to laugh. Who is the funniest actor/actress that you've worked with?
Probably the funniest woman I know, is Regina Hall - she's one of my best friends. She's an amazing actress and incredibly funny onscreen as well as off. We laugh everyday.
What do you love to watch on Netflix?
I love Chef Table - its a 6 part series. There's a great documentary on food and the way you eat to prevent illness - Fork Over Knife. And House Of Cards, I enjoy that a lot and Breaking Bad. There's a documentary called "I AM" that is fabulous.
Are there any projects you're working on that we can expect in the near (or distant) future?
Yes, I am currently producing a reality show for one of my girlfriends her name is Chloe Flower, she is a classical pianist and an amazing personality. We're at the stage of getting that going -I can't wait for the world to experience Chloe Flower soon. I'm still developing Flyy Girl. I have Now You See Me 2 out next year and I have one project I'm working on I can't say too much till the deal is done. But I'm very excited about things to come.
You were so dope as Vera Stark off Broadway. I heard you said in interviews that theater is your passion, but it's very taxing. That being said, would you consider appearing in another play if given the right role? Also, how is Flyy Girl the movie coming along?
Yes absolutely. I started in theater, I went to Yale School of Drama and did almost 30 plays there, I did a lot of theater before I started TV and Film. That's really my first love. I always intend to go back if the right role comes along. We're in the early development stages of Flyy Girl. We're working on getting the book adapted into a screenplay.
How is Matt Damon to work with?
I didn't have any scenes with Matt in Contagion. I worked with Laurence Fishbourne, pretty much all of my scenes were with Laurence. I loved working with him, he's so generous, committed and brilliant.
Would you do another Marvel movie? Look up Monica Rambeau if you answer yes!
I love Marvel superhero movies and I'm a big fan and I'd love to play one. I'll look her up!