Animation by Tomasz Czajka; photographs from Universal Studios and MGM+
Harold Perrineau has notched several highlights in his varied career — as Augustus Hill on HBO’s prison drama “Oz”; as castaway Michael Dawson on ABC’s “Lost”; and as Boyd Stevens, a man battling enemies human and not, on MGM+’ s horror drama “From.” But there’s one project in particular he‘s not ready to let go of.
Perrineau was part of the photogenic ensemble of “The Best Man,” a romantic comedy about a group of college friends who have a joyous but rocky reunion when two of them decide to marry. Premiering on Oct. 22, 1999, the film cut against a trend of films focusing on turmoil in Black communities, instead showcasing young, sophisticated and upscale Black characters dealing with professional and personal complications.
The 1999 Project
All year we’ll be marking the 25th anniversary of pop culture milestones that remade the world as we knew it then and created the world we live in now. Welcome to The 1999 Project, from the Los Angeles Times.
Many members of the film’s cast would move on to major stardom, including Taye Diggs, Morris Chestnut, Terrence Howard, Nia Long, Regina Hall and Melissa De Sousa, and its success inspired writer-director Malcolm D. Lee to continue the story in 2013’s “The Best Man Holiday” and the 2022 Peacock limited series “The Best Man: The Final Chapters.”
And though Lee insisted he was wrapping the saga up with “Final Chapters,” Perrineau refuses to say goodbye just yet. He is counting on friendship — and a lot of bourbon — to convince Lee to bring back “The Best Man.”
Perrineau, Lee, Chestnut and Diggs have joined forces with whiskey producer Bespoken Spirits to develop Sable, a bourbon with notes of mocha and dark chocolate that Diggs has characterized as an illustration of the quartet’s deep friendship.
But Perrineau admits to another agenda behind the liquor. “Since we have a bourbon together, the secret plan is to see if we can get Malcolm to write one more chapter,” he says. “He might. Or he might not. If he doesn’t, we will always have Sable as our way of staying together as long as we can.”
Produced by Lee’s cousin Spike Lee, “The Best Man” starred Diggs as Harper Stewart, an up-and-coming author whose debut book, “Unfinished Business,” is such a hot property that it has been selected for Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club. The novel sparks complications when Harper and his clique reunite in Chicago for the wedding of once-philandering football star Lance Sullivan (Chestnut) and his college sweetheart, Mia Morgan (Monica Calhoun). Harper is Sullivan’s best man.
“It came out at a time when there were not that many representations of young African Americans that were not from the’ hood,” Perrineau said. “All our characters were just out of college, trying to find their way in the world, trying to figure things out. There was nothing stereotypical about them. They were folks we recognized that really had not been onscreen before.”
That representation struck a chord with Black audiences as well as mainstream viewers, Perrineau said. “It’s a very American story, showing things that we’re striving for in the country and around the world. Audiences were very appreciative of that.”
The cast’s chemistry is central to the film’s appeal: “Our energy together was special, and that really comes out onscreen,” he said. “We’re all really good friends. We love each other, even if we don’t see each other all the time.”
Many of the performers were already attracting notice when they appeared in the movie. Diggs, a member of the original Broadway company of “Rent,” had become a sex symbol, fresh off his star-making role as Angela Bassett’s hunky love interest in “How Stella Got Her Groove Back.” Chestnut and Long had co-starred in “Boyz N the Hood.” Perrineau and De Sousa had previously been part of Alvin Ailey’s dance company.
The film marked the feature debut of Hall, who in recent years has won praise for several endeavors, including the films “Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul,” “Support the Girls” and TV’s “Nine Perfect Strangers.” In “The Best Man,” she plays a stripper named Candy, and she and Perrineau share one of the film’s most memorable scenes as Candy treats Perrineau’s henpecked youth counselor, Julian “Murch” Murchison, to a spirited lap dance during the bachelor party. Candy and Murch get married in the spinoffs.
“Regina is so fearless — then, now and always,” Perrineau said. “We shared the same acting teacher in New York, so we had a similar language. She is so attractive, so it was easy for me to be attracted to her. And then we get married. These two characters are in love!”
Another high point of the film is its ending, where Cameo’s hit “Candy” inspires the wedding guests to crowd the dance floor for the Electric Slide.
In between “The Best Man” and “The Best Man Holiday,” Perrineau joined the main cast of “Lost,” which marks its 20th anniversary this year. The series, about a group of plane crash survivors trapped on a mysterious island, was a broadcast phenomenon that continues to spark heated debate to this day, particularly over its controversial finale.
Said Perrineau: “I’m still blown away by ‘Lost.’ It was truly groundbreaking TV. For the first season, the actors were a lot like the characters, all stuck on this little island that nobody understood. It wasn’t until we got back to the mainland that we discovered how many people were watching, and how popular it was.
“The producers and writers created a great mystery and characters you could really root for. It was great storytelling and that translates through the ages,” he added. “It was a different way of working because none of us knew what was going to happen next. We would get the scripts a week in advance, so that was new and exciting. That show changed the perception of me as an actor. I was then and still am very proud of the show. I’m forever grateful for the opportunity, even with the controversy.”
The actor and “Lost” executive producer Jack Bender have reunited on “From,” which is one of MGM+’s most popular series. With its setting in a rural town that traps anybody who enters, it bears some similarities to “Lost.”
Perrineau plays Boyd Stevens, the town’s self-appointed sheriff, who is trying to hold the community together while dealing with his own fears and trauma. Making life more difficult are the lethal nocturnal creatures dressed as humans who are a constant threat.
“I’m not going to lie — it’s fun to be the lead,” Perrineau said with a huge smile. “It’s a phenomenal cast and everyone is putting their best foot forward. It does what entertainment is supposed to do. For an hour each week, I’m engrossed in the story, not thinking about politics or war. I watch it as a fan.”
And don’t ask him to reveal any of the mysteries propelling the plot. He doesn’t have any answers.
“I don’t know anything!” he said. “I tell the writers, ‘Just tell me what I need to know to get the job done this week.’”
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