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Stars Reflect on New Series “Fight Night” Featuring Muhammad Ali

Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, and Terrence Howard recently shared insights on their collaboration in the new series “Fight Night.” This show delves into the notorious armed robbery that occurred the night Muhammad Ali made his grand return to the ring in 1970.

In an engaging conversation with “Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi, the cast discussed the synergy amongst an ensemble of such prominent actors. Given the illustrious talent involved, the actors faced the exciting challenge of coexisting and complementing each other’s performances. Terrence Howard humorously noted, “All of us are scene-stealers by nature. We always walk away with the frame, so it was a hell of a head-cutting in this dance because everybody just kept coming up with sharper blades… until I think everybody ended up headless at the end of this.”

Kevin Hart and Samuel L. Jackson exchanged playful banter about their lack of previous collaborations. Hart joked about a rumored debt to Jackson stemming from an unfulfilled movie opportunity. “There’s a rumor in this town that I owe Sam money because of something we was supposed to do that didn’t happen,” Hart remarked.

Jackson responded with good humor, recalling their missed chance to work together: “We had an opportunity to do a movie, and he told me he had an opportunity to work with an international superstar. I was kind of like, ‘Who the f***? What the f***?… I just hung up the phone. I ain’t talked to him anymore.’”

He added with a laugh, “Then he became an international superstar, and I was like, ‘Damn! Where’s karma when I need it?’”

Samuel also reflected positively on his experiences working with Don Cheadle, while expressing excitement about teaming up with Hart and Henson. He emphasized the congenial atmosphere on set, stating, “It’s always a collaborative space. It’s not a space where the actors don’t talk and they try to surprise you with some s***.”

Terrence echoed this sentiment, crediting Jackson for influencing his character’s development: “Half of the stuff I did as Cadillac Richie came from Sam being like… ‘Why don’t you do this?’ You talk about literally helping each other out, building each other up, it’s beautiful.”

Emphasizing the collaborative spirit of the project, Samuel added, “It’s all about making something that’s gonna be good for the culture and gonna be fun for us. These people work like I do. I do things that make me feel good, and when I’m doing them, when I’m done with them, I can look at the person on the other side and go, ‘We killed it!’”

In “Fight Night,” Kevin Hart portrays Chicken Man, a hustler who organizes a party following Ali’s iconic fight, culminating in one of the most audacious heists in Atlanta’s history. For Hart, this role signals a departure from his comedic roots, allowing him to explore a more dramatic side of performance. “Watching them really break down their characters, watching them find the reasons of the story of why, it was refreshing for me, especially taking on a new side of performance at this point in my career,” he stated.

The conversation also touched on the series’ period costumes, particularly the attention-grabbing wig worn by Terrence. Taraji playfully remarked, “One thing Terence will compete with you on is the hair,” while laughingly recollecting their time together on the series “Empire.” She jokingly acknowledged, “He finally won with me, six seasons of ‘Empire.’”

Despite the camaraderie, Taraji highlighted the difference in their working dynamics for this project, noting, “We didn’t have a lot of scenes together. I barely saw him.” Terrence responded by explaining, “We kind of stick to the characters. When you get into the work, you know, that becomes your friendship and your relationship.”

Taraji added, “I think we sat down on the set one time and talked, like the first day we caught up, and then that was it. We were never really on set together.”

The engaging and multifaceted series “Fight Night” is currently available for streaming on Peacock.

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extratv.com