The 'Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist' Cast on Trolling Each Other on Set

Kevin Hart and Taraji P. Henson Atlanta to the ground have Atlanta rolls up cuz of Black Folk Atlanta going to turn them ashes into the gold this Al fight the perfect possible I love the dynamic of you two on screen together like y'all are business partners plus so I was gonna ask for for each one of y'all traj we can start with you what was the most fun part about bringing y'all's Dynamic to the screen I love working with K first of all um second I always told him that he's going to kill it in drama and um to me this is I love his performances this to me is by far my favorite dramatic performance of his because it's so far removed from everything else that I've worked with him in and everything else that i' I've seen him and and this is direct the direction that me as his friend and a fan of his work I want to see him go more because I really believe comedians make better dramatic actors or or good great dramatic actors I shouldn't say better I don't want to look like a competition but they make really good dramatic actors I think too you're you know the the beauty of real friendships real relationships work days aren't work and you know the longer days don't feel like the longest it's it's having the Rapport and having that uh that word with all that your energy is important to me m is important to you and let's just make sure that at the end of the day the thing that we're flourishing in is all based off of our relationship at the top so being honored enough to say that that's my sister my friend uh and somebody that I get excited if I can work with on what we're working in or what we're doing that those are like the the the bigger the bigger aspects of the project um and to all parties that are involved you know I think outside of Sam who I know very well I didn't share the screen with Stam at any point but there was connectivity between the all some way some shape somehow so day one on set when we all were there at the same time it was a dope thing it was a dope visual to look that way that way that way that way and have visuals of greatness on different layers and different levels and I think um that's the beauty of what we have in a completed project we have a a premium a premium IP uh with a visual visual like component of culture color and and then you layer that with a true story it doesn't get better it it really is something special for our time and I think for all of us in our careers that say that we were able to do together yeah Kevin I was also gonna ask you about another scene partner that you get to share some real cool Dynamics with and that's Don Cheetos that son of a that son of wait what were you gonna say I'm sorry did I jump the gun did I jump the gun have some words for you as well when I talked to so just curious how that Dynamic was and like what did you like about him or what did you like least about him as a scene partner during this show he's so good that's what we like least I can joke I can joke all day and I mean people know the the dynamic of me and Don's relationship you know we're we're very silly with one another but there's a there's a high level of credibility When people's name um are on a piece of paper right and from Sam taji and Don and and Terren The credibility is amazing but Don we been trying to figure it out for a very long time so the peacock um interview on Heart to Heart where I interviewed D and people got to see our Rapport for the first time that's what started the conversation Me Oh you mean when you called him old when I said the D you called him old well I said you said you called him old I said what other people were think I said what people were thinking I said what people were thinking and in that interview we discovered man we got to really do it and prioritize it and this is what we landed on this was the opportunity that we felt was best and the JD and chicken man back half story is I mean it's exactly what it's supposed to be it's it's a great relationship but great growth in the relationship you understand why they ended up um where they ended and how that friendship between the two of them is one that they held on to after like me and Don's discovery of where we can go and what we can do it was uh refreshing it was educating and for me um definitely a notch on my belt of honor to say I got to work with the guy don't tell him I said any of that don't tell him I said none of that I'll tell them you just leave it at son of a leave it at me saying yeah that's what you leave it at quickly last question for you what did you know about this project going into it and and what was the most exciting thing about it if you didn't know that much about the story I knew nothing about the story um I asked was it real and they said yes and they were like oh there's a podcast and I listened to the podcast and it blew my mind then I started thinking back in my own life and I was like damn that cuz I remember 1994 I had my son his godmothers moved to Atlanta god parents moved to Atlanta and um he I went to visit and you know they had quit their job and went down there for entrepreneurship and they were making money bought this big old house and everybody was making money I'm all these black people making all this money and I didn't realize that I was a stemming from this 1970s Heist I didn't figure that out until I read this script cuz I knew nothing about it I knew nothing about it um so I was excited to bring this story to life because I I you know freak Nick was down there doing you know this big boom and so now it all makes sense look here officer Mayberry I know you're supposed to be in charge of my security but you really think bringing me up here with these sticks and ticks is going to keep me safe detective hus I here you say something detective Hudson oh that's my name son just thought I'd clear that up for you uh gentlemen I am thrilled to be talking Dexter Darden and Don Cheadle with you all I I think the thing that was most exciting for me about watching this was seeing Muhammad Ali brought to life Dexter my question to you and and Don feel free to jump in is the dynamic between y'all in this show is so interesting to me given where Muhammad Ali was in his life at that time so how did y'all base that Dynamic that you have with one another I didn't know Don was going to be JD when I auditioned so for me I really had to kind of start thinking about the Ali that I wanted to bring to screen for this show first and foremost and kind of craft that independently on my own and then U when I got to Atlanta and started working and got into the gym and still training and still boxing Coro but then saw this guy's name on the call sheet and my manager texted me like Don cheel is your JD um I knew that I would have an artist who I was not only inspired by but could collaborate with and um really use that opportunity man to just kind of sink my teeth into how deep I wanted to go with Ali but how much I wanted to create with Don chidel too the script is the Bible yeah you know so we're going off with the characters that were created and you know brought to life by Shay but uh our showrunner and Creator but um I was glad to get on the set and find you know that Dexter worked in a similar way that I worked and a lot of of these things that you see over the course of the episodes are things that we discovered on the day you know we worked it out together with the the writers and their directors at Craig Brewer at the time to figure out who these guys would be at the end of their Arc so that was also a fun you know Discovery period that that the the just a work just a process you know and then Don you also have another great scene partner with with Kevin Hart and I enjoyed that dynamic as well why is he the perfect guy for you to play off of with these characters I mean it's more about me mitigating um you know um insufficiencies that he has I guess is the best way to put it uh the deficit of working with Kevin Hart I had to overcome the low level a low ball yeah it's a low ball yeah the groundedness that you I had to keep bringing this dude back slim on the days he showed up yeah half of that is CG and you know he's not there most of the time it's mostly me and green screen but uh all the time every day by the way I did what I could I did what I could you know I hope I hope it came off because God it was really struggle and that's one thing I will say about Kevin is Kevin when you look at this call sheet and you read this script and you see Samuel Jackson Don sheeld Terrence Howard taji P Henson you say who's gonna be number one and this Kevin har and you're like what and then you watch it or you work with him and then you're like oh because Kevin is the kind of guy who can Captain the ship like that there's a lot of personalities a lot of talent a lot of energy and you need to have somebody who can match that and predominantly also be in their own space Kev does that really well at a very low the drugs the drugs you know it's good to see Kevin finally getting work after all these years I know poor guy right he's in everything but a coffin um I do want to go back to Muhammad Ali and Dexter the way you played what was the biggest challenge with playing an iconic figure like mamad Al aspect uh the speech pattern what was it for you definitely the speech pattern the dialect uh the physical part was part of it but predominantly really it's it's the fact that everybody has their own idea of this man and so for me how can I make everybody's idea feel like it's personal to them how can I make this performance for personal to them well I think the personal way did it if I can interject is that you make it personal to you and then it becomes Universal do you know what I mean there there are better there are better Ali impersonators than Dexter you know but not concerning yourself with doing some perfect spot-on impersonation but rather really try and find the truth of who that character is and that other stuff is filigree that sits on top of that yeah but you know this isn't doing a Vegas show and finding that Elvis impersonated this is finding an actor to bring those things about ali that are the truths that we need for this storytelling to work and I think Dex did a great job of that thank you D got something for you bro thank you man want to make sure best is I made him to say that no real but that was it it was that it was providing the humanity and the levity behind Ali and just as an artist that's my job to provide the most realistic performance that that a person could watch and that's what I wanted to do what's your name Lena you three going to be acting like our distinguished host now everybody rest up it's going to be a long night I wanted to ask both of y'all and and Co Sinqua Walls and Chloe Bailey we can start with you just about the the intensity of those Afterparty Fight Night scenes they were so well done what will y'all take most from filming those scenes because it was like such a huge cast and so much going on I had the most fun doing those and down to like doing the stunt coordination with taji and you know like practicing getting hit and using my hair pin My Little Weapon like it was just so much chaos and to know that it was crafted so beautifully so that each story still stood out on its own was really really cool and honestly even down to the background like they were giving me energy to keep going as we are like doing these intense things during the scene like even just their energy it was like helping feed off of for what we had to do the best so yeah S I was going to say like everybody in those scenes came to play even the background folks so like you you the energies up the whole time what what from those scenes will you take with you as an actor going forward similar to what chlo saying I think that it takes everybody to make something successful right because that's just a great highlight is the fact that the background artist that came and played with us they gave so much you know I would you know there's the scene when everyone sees McKinley establishing that this is a robbery and I would see people like I'm I'm looking for Khloe because we have to have a moment I'm looking for teraji because we have to have a moment but that would scan the room and the other background artists their eyes are still so intricately invested you know and that's just a mark of really great storytelling and everyone comes together to help make something really good and if you want to see something dope everyone needs to be a part of it yeah I'm I'm a huge boxing fan so I knew a little bit about this story and obviously mhamad Ali disappeared in his life coming to it I wasn't nearly as familiar with McKinley Rogers so what was the the most important part of that character for you to to express to have come across on screen just to find a Redemption you know I think that when people enter into circumstances where you're doing something that that is almost that is Criminal it is a robbery it is an armed robbery now we get the opportunity to work backwards right and now I have to redeem him so that the the audience can relate to him and understand why he was in those circumstances the same thing that makes McKinley a robber is the same thing that makes someone want to become an accountant right to pay their builds and to survive and take care of their family so that was the fun part that's the journey and that's what is What attracted me to want to do it yeah and Cy for you you know you mentioned like the these huge Ensemble pieces that you got to do but there's so many great individual pairings in this show and it really attracted me to it watching y'all and to Raji P Hansen so when it's just you two what was it like working on of somebody like that I really have to give you your props because it was so nice sharing a story with someone that you could feel vulnerable and safe with even though we hadn't known each other prior so it was really nice knowing that the foundation was there and it's like it was our characters have this shared desperation and I think like even just by looking in each other's eyes it was like we already got it mhm so that was something that is rare and also pretty beautiful yeah that was beautiful the answer ex yeah like I sound like that right like um so here here's a really fun question I was I was thinking like like watching y'all because like it transports you back to 1970 even though I'm in 2024 watching it so what was like your favorite 1970s is detail of the show that you're like oh cool I'm I'm back in the 70s now you said the diner the diner was good the diner the diner was good the diner like that wasn't a built set yeah and it felt like we were in the 70s no lie and I really loved my little waitress costume and like pulling up on you and being like what you want Mac I just felt like we were really in the 7s we were in it it was it helped us really drop in and tell the story there was the set that that Chloe was talking about is this Diner scene that that that kind of introduces how she's going to potentially join the journey um um but that wasn't anything created we still had that and that was a live location and it was so authentic down to the tables down to like the shelving and everything and I remember I remember when you walked Walked around and you had to go get the old coffee from the coffee maker and it was just like man this is this is the 70s like we're we're in it we're really in it you know they did a great job whatever you gentlemen need while you're here in Atlanta I'm your man who are you you are party host yes sir is the chicken man at guilty is charge yeah know what see see a bad I'll be honest with you people ask Terrence Howard and Will Packer me what is it that a producer does you know in this medium people are familiar with directors writers of course actors this is what a producer does is do the best you can to pull together what you hope is going to be the best talent that you can attract with whatever the project is but a producer's dream is when you actually pull together a cast on this level this is the ultimate level when you think and I've been very fortunate to work with some amazing ensemble cast but I will tell you I have never been quite as as excited as I was when I walked on set and we had all our big dogs as I call them on set ready to rock ready to roll and everybody you know when you have Folks at this level there is a very healthy competition because nobody wants to be outdone so everybody took it very serious everybody's worth ethics were on display but as a producer it's a dream man it really really is to have this caliber of talent at your disposal and one of the biggest problems that you have with producers most producers 90% of them are bow fingers 90% of them and therefore people don't want to show up for them and they don't want to show out for them but when you're somebody like will and I say this honestly that has built a reputation of 30 years you know me of me watching other people that that has worked with him and then they actors talk to each other they're like oh yeah no no yeah he's a jerk no no he's beautiful he's beautiful he he works with you he's an honest man he doesn't lie and most producers are out there lying you can't really take their word so therefore it makes it easier for artists whether you're a writer whether you're a cinematographer whether you're um even as it a gaffer all of these people will trust the producer that set that sets the foundation and that has built this life of of Excellence so that's what makes a difference if more producers were like you then there would be more greater projects you know around the world but there most people most people are bow fingers and they're not men of their word and that's what sets you apart and that's what everyone has spoken about you for 30 years and that's why my first time being able to work with him was like when he asked I was so happy that I get to do this with them so it's just the association of being with good people that makes great projects know what see see a bad Cadillac there was a there's a there's a sensitivity about him because he was he was jovio very jovio you know he loved his father I wish I could have had more information but knowing knowing the relationship between him and his father and seeing how people loved him the fact that he was a great ball player all of those little aspects but then to have that Darkness inside of him you know that you couldn't even reach the pit of his hole you know that I really liked and how do you balance the jovial nature you know and and the Betrayal of somebody that's so loyal to somebody it's just I don't want to say too much but I loved I loved who Rich Cadillac Richie was he's the first person that I've ever really wanted to wear a wig for or do anything like that for so I'm I just wish that there was more Cadillac Richie out [Music] there well I've known Sam since I was eight years old you know he used to be the doorman inside of um Manhattan Plaza my grandmother lived at the plaza and I spent the Summers there wow you know so I've he's watched me grow up and watched me get in trouble but this is our first time really really getting the work together and he you know he just kept telling the same old stories that we had heard growing up and you love the the sentimentality of this simple person you know loud voice but he comes from a very sincere place in his heart you know I for Sam he obviously he he was like the grounding you know he was really the anchor of this whole thing I mean in front of camera behind the camera one of the things that was so interesting is that as you mentioned he was in Atlanta at this time he knew this story he knew it very specifically when we first talked to him he said I I was there when this happened he would come to set on days when he wasn't working just to see how well we were doing at recreating at putting in Nuance at being authentic to that time period he showed up when we were shooting a scene at the actual house where The Big Heist happens and he said you know what my wife grew up two blocks from here this was her neighborhood I remember this she and I got married at the church down the street he came when we shot at uh at the Atlanta University Center at Morehouse College and he said you know what I walked these grounds my dorm was right there this is where we we locked up the administrators a lot of people know the stories that you know as part of a student protest he um you know he locked up some administrators in a building there he said that was the building right there where we shot it having him on set and having him number one share those stories like Terence is talking about where he was able to say let me tell you how it really happened number one was very cool but number two he would tell us you're doing it right you're getting it right like when Sam gave the thumbs up when he approved because he was the one person there who actually lived it that meant a lot to us Sam just didn't like the the standin doing the blocking for us cuz sometimes the the the directors would be trying to get the get the shot line up and we would be on our way and they would use the standin you know to do the blocking out and he was like dude why are you why don't you have them to play the part too you know let the actors do their job then the standin and follow him he's someone that he's a stickler for the creative art and for doing it the right way it has to be done the right way he doesn't care about anything else and there's a lot to take from it and he also gave us a lot of tips on how to get paid properly in this game which I'm really happy about I can't share it with will right now yeah what what was some of those tips brother let me put me up on that game don't knowbody with Frank M M it baby them Robins won't see the next sunrise chicken man rob me they going to kill me they are Reckless I to clim my NE get ready this here is going to be a night that we never going to forget [Music] it was exhilarating and daunting I mean Shaye Ogbonna it's exhilarating because I'm a fan it's just not only do we have like this great cast I'm actually like a huge fan of every one of these these actors and are kind of like have been obsessively watching their work for years so for me there's one element of like being this kid with all of these you know new high-end toys that I get to play around with u but then other end it's like daunting because you've got to we have to create material that rises to the level of Don Cheeto Sam Jackson to Raj banson and Terence and I really I really felt like we did that and we did that in a way of just like every I feel like every one of these characters is is tailored to what they do best their Cadence their rhythms but also kind of a bit of a thing we really haven't really got a chance to see any of them do you know what I mean um or do um pretty often so so it was like I said it was it was like exhilarating but also you know daunting cuz it's a challenge you know with like and it's a dream I've always wanted to like make something with an iconic cast like this but then once you get that dream you got to like once you get the Ferrari you got to drive that bad boy so um it was it was amazing it was an amazing experience know [Music] what for me what was was fun is was just creating the atmosphere because um again Ali this makes so the story so Dynamic this show there's so many like crazy interesting elements of this show that can be their own shows but just the idea of like Ali's coming off of you know this this kind of two and a half year exile for not um joining the military effort and this fight was a huge deal for him but it's also a huge deal for Atlanta and the one thing I wanted to create was like this tension that's happening um in the audience of just like there's kind of like a a class divide in the upper levels is more like working class and primarily African-American citizens and then below was a lot of celebrities and Rich folk and and primarily um Caucasian folks so I wanted to kind of but also and just but create the kind of atmosphere around Ali like he was not a popular figure at this time so for me it was that was the thing that was fun to me just creating this moment like the walk up to the fight seeing the atmosphere of people like rooting against Alan rooting for Quarry and vice versa and um that that was what was interesting to me in terms of just like exploring that from a Nuance perspective [Music] what Atlanta is almost like every other character in this show in that Atlanta is at an inflection point and Atlanta is trying to Define itself for this new this kind of like this this kind of new time in our country cuz Atlanta is coming off of it's 1970 so we're coming off the Civil Rights Movement we're coming off of Jim Crow we're coming off of like multiple uh leaders being being assassinated and in this moment as a southern city it can go any way but Atlanta chooses to redefine itself from a commercial perspective and I think Atlanta is very much like this aspirational it's like it's like a it's like somebody that that that chicken man is to me the embodiment and the representation and Frank Moten to a certain extent as an antagonist both are kind of like the embodiment of Atlanta at this time of like we're at an inflection point I got a dream and I'm trying to and I'm working my butt off to get it I'm trying to redefine myself yeah there was definitely some more there was there was a bit more story specifically with um with JD um JD Hudson and his and his family and his wife there was there was more story there that we just didn't have the real estate to really explore you'll kind of see it it's you kind of see in the first episode you see elements of it but we really wanted to go deeper into like uh the dynamic with him and his wife but also a certain situation that actually is affecting JD at his job we wanted to go deeper on that we just didn't have the real estate to do it we wrote it we've even like got a chance to shoot some things but when you get in that room you got to make some tough choices and and that was a tough choice that we had to make