White Men Can’t Jump (2023) features the talents of the late Lance Reddick. The cast and director remember him in this interview.
During the global press conference for the 2023 version of White Men Can’t Jump, the cast and director recall their time working with the talented Lance Reddick, who recently passed away unexpectedly. He plays the father of Kamal (Sinqua Walls) and a former basketball player who suffers from Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS).
White Men Can’t Jump Cast Remembers Lance Reddick
When the credits start to roll “In Memory Of Lance Reddick” is shown on the screen. He delivers a great performance in this movie, as he has in all of his projects, and he will be missed. When asked to share what it was like working with him, or any stories about him, the Director of White Men Can’t Jump, Calmatic, jumps in first. “When his name came up as an option for Benji, it was like, duh, we gotta go with Lance.”
Calmatic goes on to explain that Lance took this role very seriously. He took the time to tons of research on the illness that his character had, going so far as to meet with doctors and interview someone that had that same condition, making sure that he could portray it accurately.
The director claims that every take for Lance was perfect, so he would just ask him to do the next one different, which Lance would, and then be perfect again. “He was one of the best actors that I’ve ever worked with. It’s such a shame that he’s not here with us. His presence alone left an imprint and a great impression on us.”
Teyana Taylor, who plays Imani, admits that she didn’t get a lot of time to be around him, and she really wishes she had the opportunity to spend more time with him when they weren’t in work mode. However, there is a cookout scene in the film, where he is in a wheelchair, and they got to work together while filming that. “He was really sweet and really kind,” she claims. “The little piece of him that I got to know was dope.”
Laura Harrier plays Tatiana in the film and she admits that she didn’t get to spend as much time with Lance as she wishes she could have either. “I wish that we had got to spend more time with him. He did, that day, share his snacks from Crafty with me, which was really sweet.”
Since Sinqua Walls is Lance’s son in the movie, they had a little bit more time together. He immediately credits Lance as super generous, before telling a funny story about him. “I remember he had to eat some Jell-O. He was supposed to be in the chair, going through his illness. He accidentally ate the wrong Jell-O. And I remember him breaking character. He was like, ‘My bad, man. Let’s just go ahead and take that back.’ And it was so funny because he laughed, too. Then he went right back into character.”
Sinqua says that is the moment he know Lance Reddick was a pro and a legacy. “He was really well trained. He was really well studied. But to see him break character, laugh, and then go right back into it was just a testament to his personality.”
Jack Harlow, Jeremy in White Men Can’t Jump, only had a couple of days to film with Lance, but says that he was really taken by his presence. “The energy he had playing Benji felt so real. When I think back it’s hard for me to separate in between takes and what was going on on-camera.”
Jack explains that Lance had the same warmth his character had. “Kind as hell, that’s how I’ll remember him.”
White Men Can’t Jump features one of Lance Reddick’s final performances. Check it out when it hits Hulu on May 19th.
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About White Men Can’t Jump
From 20th Century Studios,’ the all-new comedy “White Men Can’t Jump” is a modern remix of the iconic 1992 film that celebrates the streetball hustling culture of Los Angeles. Multi-platinum rap superstar Jack Harlow makes his big-screen debut as Jeremy, a former star of the game whose injuries stalled his career, and Sinqua Walls stars as Kamal, once a promising player who derailed his own future in the sport.
Juggling tenuous relationships, financial pressures and serious internal struggles, the two ballers—opposites who are seemingly miles apart—find they might have more in common than they imagined possible. “White Men Can’t Jump” begins streaming on May 19, 2023, exclusively on Hulu in the U.S., Star+ in Latin America, and Disney+ under the Star banner in all other territories.
Directed by Calmatic, the movie also stars Teyana Taylor, Laura Harrier, Vince Staples, Myles Bullock and Lance Reddick. The film is written by Kenya Barris and Doug Hall. “White Men Can’t Jump” is produced by Kenya Barris and Paul Hall; it’s executive produced by Blake Griffin, Ryan Kalil, Noah Weinstein, Calmatic, Doug Hall, E. Brian Dobbins and James Powers.
White Men Can’t Jump starts streaming on Hulu May 19th.
Tessa Smith is a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer-approved Film and TV Critic. On Camera personality and TV / Film Critic with 10+ years of experience in video editing, writing, editing, moderating, and hosting.