Actress Nia Long is putting the rumor to rest that she turned down a Charlie’s Angels role for another project, the comedy Big Mama’s House.
The original film, released in 2000, based on the hit TV series, follows three women trying to recover a stolen voice recognition software with their various skills. Charlie’s Angels starred Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu.
On Jan. 20, during an interview with Yahoo Entertainment, Long disclosed that she didn’t get a role in Charlie’s Angels because the casting executives felt the star looked “too old and too sophisticated” standing next to the film’s lead Drew Barrymore.
Nia Long says she passed up for Charlie’s Angels “because they said I looked too sophisticated and too old next to Drew Barrymore.” pic.twitter.com/k68dDv3Sxw
— Kevin Polowy (@djkevlar) January 20, 2023
Later, the 52-year-old also shared her thoughts about the movie after she saw it and claimed that despite not getting a part, it taught her a valuable lesson: “every opportunity isn’t for you.”
“But listen, I thought Lucy Liu was great in that role. When I went back and looked at it, I was like, ‘Whoa, she’s really doing some stunts.’ I don’t know if I was quite ready for that. I don’t, you can’t do everything, and every opportunity isn’t for you. And as much as it would’ve been fun to play that character, I think Big Momma’s House was probably more fun for me,” Long said.
This isn’t the first time Long has addressed this issue with Charlie’s Angels casting.
In a 2020 Insider interview, the star believes that she didn’t get a role because of racial undertones aside from being told by her agent that she was too old and sophisticated standing next to Barrymore.
“I was like, “What?” Long said. “I love Drew Barrymore, I think she’s amazing, but I think that was just a nice way to say you’re a little too Black. Personally, that’s what I think. Because if you notice there were no brown skin [actors]. I mean, honestly, I would have been the blackest thing in the film.”
In that discussion, Long also shared that she tried out for the role of Alex Munday, a part that ultimately went to Lucy Liu.
The movie would dominate the box office upon its theatrical debut and make over $264 million worldwide. The success of Charlie’s Angels would spawn a sequel and later a reboot with an entirely new cast.
