Gabrielle Union famously became a part of the Bad Boys film series when Michael Bay cast her alongside Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. It was the first time she’d ever worked with either actor, and Union described it as an unforgettable experience.
How Gabrielle Union got along with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence on ‘Bad Boys II’
Gabrielle Union | John Nacion/Getty Images
Smith and Lawrence welcomed a new member to the Bad Boys family after Union entered the franchise. She famously played Lawrence’s sister Sydney Burnet in the hit film. And since Bad Boys isn’t the same without its weaponry, Union had to learn to work a gun in order to hang with her co-stars.
“Well, the boys worked for about a week before I got there. I got to come in on the following Sunday and got briefed on weapons training. You learned how to shoot all the different weapons. Like the little brother to the Ak47, a number of 9s, Glocs etc,” Union once said according to Black Film.
It didn’t take long for the actor to get the hang of her weapons training, which she also enjoyed immensely.
“I loved it. I’m a former athlete and extremely competitive. I won a couple of the competitions and the guys were kinda surprised,” Union said.
“My husband has always had weapons and I was always afraid. But now that I’ve had weapons training and got comfortable with it, you can’t take me off the range,” she added.
But what seemed like Union’s favorite part about Bad Boys II was getting to work with Smith and Lawrence.
“Oh, my god. They’re like Martin and Lewis for the new millennium. Everyone was like, ‘It’s been 8 years, what’s it going to be like?’ They must have been having barbecues every weekend because they just picked right back up,” she said.
Additionally, Union somewhat felt the best part about Lawrence’s and Smith’s chemistry wasn’t even in theaters for fans to see.
“And the DVD for this is going to be the greatest ever,” she said. “Half the stuff that is the funniest is not even in the movie. They are constantly bagging on each other. There are some amazing improv scenes. Yeah, you have to be on your toes. I got to hang around them before shooting so I got to see their banter. So when you’re filming I can jump in and follow them.”
Gabrielle Union would later lead her own ‘Bad Boys’ spin-off
Union’s stint in the Bad Boys franchise didn’t necessarily end with the sequel. Fans might not have known it at the time, but they’d see Union’s character again in the short-lived spin-off L.A’s Finest. The show was announced in 2017 and saw Union reprising her role as Burnett. Instead of Smith and Lawrence, however, Union would team up with Jessica Alba, who’d play her partner in the television series. The Bring It On star was looking for something specific when it came to her co-lead, and found it in the former Honest Company founder.
“I really wanted a woman that was equally yoked, who could come on [and be] mano-a-mano onscreen and offscreen. A boss, badass woman,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
The series, which was titled LA’s Finest, didn’t last long, however. It was canceled by Spectrum on October, 2020. Before the cancellation, Union was once asked how she’d feel about reuniting with her old co-stars Smith and Lawrence again. She confided that she’d welcome the opportunity with open arms.
“We are always prepared to be our own thing, just understanding that we do come from the Bad Boys universe. And if there was an opportunity to sprinkle in some of these characters that you’ve seen with Bad Boys or into LA’s Finest, then that will be a treat for the audience,” she said according to Social News XYZ.
However, Union was also adamant that LA’s Finest didn’t need to lean on the original series.
“But we are set up to function individually, independently from what Bad Boys have done. But it would be nice if we popped up, even though they don’t need us over there and we don’t need them over here. It’d be nice. It would be a really cool treat for the fans. It is not a need though, it is more of a want,” she said.