Regina Hall says she gets confused with Regina King: ‘It happens a lot’
Actress Regina Hall, who’s starred in the Scary Movie franchise, 2014’s About Last Night and many other movies over the last 20-plus years, is having a moment.
In a new interview with the New York Times Magazine, Hall was asked about how her recent successes, such as starring in the 2017 hit Girls Trip and last year’s critically lauded Support the Girls, for which she was the first black woman to ever win the New York Film Critics Circle’s Best Actress award, have impacted her. One way: she has several upcoming high-profile projects, including Showtime’s series Black Monday and summer’s Shaft reboot.
“Girls Trip made a lot of money, which matters, and then the critics were so responsive to Support the Girls. It’s weird,” she said. “I’ve always had steady work, but I guess there are lists in Hollywood. I was on the top of one before; now I’m on the bottom of a more difficult one.”
When pressed, Hall explained the difference between those lists.
“There are certain films with predominantly black casts. The list of who’s considered for parts in those is a whole different one than the list of who’s considered for films with roles that could be played by anybody,” Hall continued. “I remember there was a script that I read that I loved, and my agent told me, ‘They went after Amy Adams, and she’s not doing it.’ And I said, ‘I’ll do it!’ And he was like, ‘They love you, but they’re going to Natalie Portman.’ ‘Oh, right.’ There’s always another.”
Hall has starred in a number of movies with mostly black casts that she mentioned — Think Like a Man and Barbershop: The Next Cut, for example — and said she has no plans to abandon those moviegoers.
“Black audiences are what I’ve considered my base, and I will always make movies for that base,” Hall said.
Hall also revealed during the interview that a magazine had once mistaken her for fellow actress Regina King, the winner of this year’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
“[The mistake] happens a lot!” Hall said. “Years ago I got a layout in a magazine. I can’t remember which one. The magazine said it was using a picture of me in a bright red dress. I’m thinking, I wonder when I wore a bright red dress? Then there was the layout — of Regina King. She and I laugh about it. Regina, it’s a good thing I love you.”
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