The talented veteran actor, Larenz Tate, has been doing his thing on the big screen for years in some our favorite cult classic films, including Menace II Society, where he played as “O-Dog” and in the movie, Love Jones, where he stole plenty of women’s hearts as “Darius Lovehall.”
Aside from Love Jones, fans almost had another opportunity to see Tate and Nia Long on screen together again, but Larenz turned the role down.
“Brown Sugar”
In an interview with B.E.T., Tate revealed that he was offered the role of “Harper Stewart” for the romantic comedy, Best Man. Larenz revealed that he loved the chemistry he had with Nia in Love Jones and that he has great respect for the director, Malcolm Lee. However, he felt like the role of “Harper,” which essentially was played by actor, Taye Diggs, was too close to his prior character in Love Jones. A stand up guy, Tate said that he didn’t regret taking the role because he was a fan of the movie and he thought Diggs did a phenomenal job.
“The Best Man”
In addition to declining the role of “Harper Stewart” in Best Man, there came another time when Taye Diggs yet again got another opportunity, thanks to Larenz.
In an interview with ‘The Breakfast Club,’ Tate revealed that he turned down another role in a classic romantic Black comedy- the role of “Dre” in Brown Sugar. He didn’t explain why he turned down that role, but Tate did break down why he felt The Best Man wouldn’t have worked for him. He explained that like his previous character, “Darius Lovehall,” “Harper Stewart” was similar to his character in the sense that both men were writers. Also, when Larenz was offered the role, Nia Long was already assigned to her role in the film and he said he didn’t want to take away from the magic they created in Love Jones. Jokingly, Breakfast’ host , Charlamagne Tha God, commented that Taye Diggs should send Larenz an edible arrangement to thank him. Check out what else Larenz said about this at the 24:40 mark in the video below…
Before seeing Taye Diggs on the big screen, he was acting on the Broadway stage. He later transitioned to television on Guiding Light and scored his big-screen debut in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. But let’s be real, Diggs’ career really took off when he starred in the The Best Man. Although some movie critics doubted the success of the film, it was and always will be a cult classic among the Black culture.
Malcolm Lee wrote and directed The Best Man in 1999 and the The Best Man Holiday in 2013. Both releases were big successes, with the first film making $34 million domestically on a $9 million budget, according to BoxOfficeMojo. The 2013 film earned $70 million. There were also talks that The Best Man Wedding would be released in 2016, however, due to scheduling conflicts the movie was put on hold.
From The Best Man, to Brown Sugar and now onto his recurring role on the Fox hit show, Empire- it’s safe to say that Taye Diggs should at least treat Larenz to a full course dinner for indirectly helping to launch his impeccable acting career.
