"As a filmmaker, you get comfortable with certain actors, and these actors are very special," said McHenry. "I don't think it's good to discriminate against actors just because you've worked with them before. In fact, I think that's a strong reason to use them. Besides, these are two very different and very positive stories about African Americans that have implications and meaning for relationships regardless of a person's background."
For Tamala Jones, who plays another girlfriend, the emotional and sometimes confrontational Tracye, the script for Two Can Play That Game, actually gave her some ideas in the area of relationships.
"Tracye has a very short fuse, and Shante is trying to teach her how to tone it down, to use that energy in a different way, a way that's positive but deceptive," says Jones, who's single. "Until I read the script, it never occurred to me to hide a pair of panties and ask a boyfriend about them to test his faithfulness. I'm not at all like my character, but yeah, I think that's something I might try: hide some panties and see what happens!"
Gabrielle Union, who starred with Chestnut in Screen Gems' The Brothers, relished the opportunity to portray Conny, a barracuda determined to have Keith for herself. . .and by any means necessary.
"Conny's a bitch," says Union with a smile. "I've never had the opportunity before to let my hair down, so to speak, and play this kind of character, so this is a nice change of pace. I love it."
Union, who recently married football star Chris Howard. said she abides by her own personal guidelines when it comes to love and relationships.
"When I was in my conniving stage, my character Conny and I were similar in being very ambitions and goal oriented, but that's where the similarities begin and end," said Union. "I would go as far as I could within the boundaries of human decency and good taste, because without self respect. you have nothing."
In the film, Conny's attitude sets it off for Shante, and actresses Union and Fox have a hilarious physical confrontation in the film at a party scene filmed on the grounds of a Hancock Park mansion.
"I actually enjoy fight scenes. They're exciting," said Fox of the moment when the gloves come off between Shante and Connv. "I'm not sure that the fight was the most appropriate way for my character to respond to Conny, but Gabrielle was a really good sport about it, because she really gets knocked out in this scene. She hung in there for quite a few takes!"
For several of the women in the cast of Two Can Play That Game. the most exciting day on the set centered on the arrival of R&B star Bobby Brown. Brown makes a cameo appearance in the film as Michael, the ex-boyfriend of Wendy Raquel Robinson's character, Karen. When Brown arrived on set at a private estate in Tarzana for his first day of work, Fox, Robinson, Jones, and Mo'Nique huddled excitedly in an adjoining room, almost breathless in expectation.
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