Washington DC [US], February 23 : Actress Sanaa Lathan has opened up about the physical and emotional challenges she faced while filming the 2000 romantic sports drama 'Love & Basketball', revealing that the experience was far from easy, according to People.
Speaking during a panel discussion, Lathan reflected on her first reaction to the script and her deep connection to the character of Monica Wright, a fiercely ambitious young basketball player. The film, directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, starred Lathan opposite Omar Epps, who played her childhood neighbor and love interest, Quincy McCall.
"I read the script and I was like - I gotta play this role. It was a page turner. I cried every time I read it," Lathan said. "I had come from theater, with some of the best writers to ever live. And this was on par...in terms of the character development. I knew she had spent a lot of time working on it," according to People.
While she felt confident about the acting aspect, thanks to her theatre background, the basketball training proved to be a major challenge.
"The basketball part, you know, I was coming from drama school, so...the acting part was in the bag," she explained. "But the basketball part was extremely challenging for me."
Lathan revealed that she even had to audition with a basketball before meeting the director. "She was like, 'She's gonna ruin my movie,'" Lathan recalled with a laugh.
Determined to look authentic on screen, the actress underwent rigorous training to convincingly portray a competitive athlete. She stressed that poor sports portrayal can easily be spotted by audiences.
"There is nothing worse than some bad basketball on film," she said, adding that some of the training sequences, especially a silhouetted two-ball scene, were particularly demanding, according to People.
"I was so mad at Prince-Bythewood for putting it in silhouette because it really was me," Lathan shared. "I had practiced for hours and hours and hours. So the experience of shooting it wasn't fun, it was hard," according to People.
Despite the gruelling process, the film, which also featured Regina Hall, Gabrielle Union and Tyra Banks, went on to become a cultural touchstone, resonating deeply with audiences over the years.