In this weekend’s new comedy Little, moviegoers will see a ton of big-screen breakout performances, including 14-year-old Marsai Martin, best known for her role in ABC’s Black-ish, roll with Insecure’s Issa Rae and Regina Hall from Girls Trip, shaping up into an impressive female-centric cast. On the Little set, there was one performance everyone couldn’t bear to miss… R&B singer Luke James taking the floor for his character’s seductive & hilarious dance.
In my interview with Little’s writer/director Tina Gordon, she painted the picture of one of the most memorable days for the cast and crew on set. In her words:
Luke James was the lightning rod that brought everyone together on the rooftop in an Atlanta penthouse maybe because he was going to dance. Regina [Hall] flew in allegedly to support us as a producer but probably also to enjoy Luke James’ dancing. It was a great memory: it was like a hot night and we were on this gorgeous rooftop in Atlanta, overlooking the city with great music playing and Luke is just the kindest, most generous actor who can sing and dance. It was near the end of production, we just relaxed and Luke was dancing for us.
It looks like Luke James’ scene was quite the event, so much so that Regina Hall may have bought a plane ticket just to see the show. The Grammy-nominated singer is best known for his falsetto voice found in sultry songs such as "These Arms” and “Drip," and he has recently transitioned into acting. He guest starred in an episode of Insecure, the Fox series Star and the 2013 film Black Nativity.
In Little, he contributes to a few funny moments as he tries to win the heart of mean-spirited tech entrepreneur Jordan, who magically wakes up one morning as a 12-year-old version of herself after bullying a young girl. Here’s a bit of the scene, via the film’s Instagram:
Now when you watch the scene, you can imagine J. Holiday’s “Bed” was likely laid over “oohhs” and roars of laughter from the cast and crew who all couldn’t help but be in attendance for the filming of the scene. Tina Gordon, who also recently penned What Men Want, continued by saying this about the day on set:
If the camera could turn around and I think we have that footage – literally every woman in the crew and some men made it to that rooftop.
Looks like Luke James used a mix of his song-and-dance talent and some comedy chops to pull off the highlight of the filming process. You can see the funny scene when Little opens on Friday, alongside Hellboy and Missing Link. Hellboy was originally predicted to edge over the comedy this weekend, but with its disappointing reviews, maybe Little will find a few more reasons to dance.
