Harold Perrineau, Regina Hall and Melissa De Sousa are among the many actors reprising their roles in the long awaited sequel The Best Man Holiday. When we last saw their characters, Julian Murch (Perrineau) had broken up with the infinitely snobby Shelby (De Sousa), and he eventually popped the question to Candace Murch, who said yes.
The sequel takes place 14 years later and things have more or less changed. Julian and Candace now run a charter school in New York and have two kids, and Shelby has long since joined one of those Real Housewives reality shows and is all about selling herself. But when a secret from Candace’s past is discovered and Shelby finds out about it, Julian starts to worry about Shelby blackmailing him and begins to question his wife’s past.
Recently, we had the chance to catch up with Harold, Regina and Melissa when they appeared at The Best Man Holiday press junket which was held at The Four Seasons in Los Angeles, California. While there they spoke about what it was like working with director Malcolm Lee, how it felt to be playing these characters again after such a long time, what they were vocal about changing, and what gets their holiday season started.
Check it out below and enjoy!
What is it like to work on Malcolm’s set again?
Harold Perrineau: It was just comedy all the time; a lot of people laughing and Malcolm looking a little distressed like, “We gotta go guys! We gotta go!”
Regina Hall: It was fun.
Harold Perrineau: It was a lot of fun and a lot of comedy, and Malcolm was so short-handed. That part of it was really good.
Melissa De Sousa: He needed help wrangling us in, especially for the group scenes because they were out of control.
Making this movie was such a team effort in the sense that everybody was necessary to get this made. What we would like to hear more about is the table read because that was a pivotal moment in getting this movie made. What happened?
Melissa De Sousa: Well I stripped (laughs) and showed them where it could go.
Harold Perrineau: Oddly it didn’t go that route (laughs). That was strange.
Regina Hall: They decided to keep it out (laughs). No, we showed up and we acted like we were really wanting to get this movie made. I think everybody came on their A game.
Harold Perrineau: I didn’t make it to the reading.
Regina Hall: Oh right, once again the diva was working.
Melissa De Sousa: So was I, but I flew out.
Harold Perrineau: I was in India, but I heard the reading was awesome.
Did you read through all the scenes?
Melissa De Sousa: We read the whole script.
Regina Hall: I will say this though, for Melissa and I it was actually much harder because we didn’t have Harold, and when he wasn’t at that table read it was not the same. Harold is Murch.
Melissa De Sousa: When we did one of the table reads, there was like a reader for Harold. Me and my big mouth, I always say the wrong thing. My mother always told me to be careful what you say, and so the guy that was reading his part… I mean he was good, but I leaned over to Regina at one point and I was like, “I miss Harold,” and the guy heard me. I was like, “Oh god!” I felt so terrible. But I mean he (Harold) is Murch. He embodied this character.
Harold Perrineau: I just think we all have a chemistry.
Melissa De Sousa: I know, but it wasn’t just that.
Regina Hall: Even reading the script before we did the table read, you’re reading lines and you hear the peoples’ voices in your head. So to have a voice that doesn’t resonate with what you know, it just for us was… We didn’t have the hardest time, but we just missed him.
Melissa De Sousa: There’s something that he brings to that character that can’t be replaced. No one can really fill those shoes.
Regina Hall: He’s touched us both (Harold laughs).
Melissa De Sousa: Literally (laughs).