Lathan admitted that Prince-Bythewood was initially looking for a basketball player who could be trained to act. But she saw something in Lathan that she just couldn’t deny. CBS Local reports;
“I was very lucky… I did a staged reading of the script when she was still working on the script. She couldn’t get my stage reading out of her head. She wasn’t auditioning a lot of actresses. I would always get to the last step and then they would throw in another basketball player. They were giving the basketball player acting coaches. They would always do a basketball audition for me, which was just the worst. Finally I demanded that if you want me to continue, you’ll have to get me a basketball coach.”
Lathan’s suggestion prompted Prince-Bythewood to secure a coach from the LA Spark to coach her five hours a day and the rest is history. This story should serve as inspiration for anyone chasing their dreams. Had Lathan given up there’s no telling if Love & Basketball would have gone on to become one of the most beloved movies of the last twenty years. And her star continues to rise with a role on the Jordan Peele produced CBS re-boot of The Twilight Zone. Check out the entire interview below.
