“Forever” stars Michael Cooper Jr. and Lovie Simone opened up about the first time they encountered one another, with no idea at the time they would end up starring together in Netflix’s newest teen romance series. The pair told TheWrap that their “weird” initial interaction was as “authentic” as their characters’ meet cute.
“I was not familiar with Michael, but when I first met him, I was really upset because we were on our way to the first chemistry read — I think we had like two or three — and he was sitting in the window seat on the way to Los Angeles from Atlanta on this five, six-hour flight,” Simone told TheWrap. “We were sitting next to each other. I was in the aisle and he was by the window, and I was really upset about that. I was like, ‘Who is this guy?’ Because I really love a window seat.”
“We sitting next to each other. I had my earbuds on, she had her earbuds on,” Cooper said. “I just remember getting to the hotel [where were staying], and the same girl who was sitting right next to me got to the hotel, and I was like, ‘Are you, is it?’”
Like their personal pass by, their characters Keisha and Justin come across one another while at a friend’s party. The two know each other from their days attending elementary school, but distance grew between them after Keisha transferred to another school. As viewers see in Episode 1: “Reunion” of Mara Brock Akil’s TV adaptation of Judy Blume’s beloved 1975 novel of the same name, after catching the eyes of the other, their interest eventually blossoms into a fiery first love affair.
“When I actually really met him, he walked up to me in the room and we exchanged words. Then afterwards, I was like, ‘OK, I know you.’ Then we would go over sides in the hotel room and we had this, like, rapport before meeting,” Simone said. “Then [Executive Producer] Regina [King] tells us that there’s this tension, and we have not seen each other in a long time, so we can’t talk too much. It was literally like, OK, we’re literally kind of going through real life. But later on, what Keisha and Justin went through when they knew each other, then they didn’t. So a lot of feelings were authentic, and a lot of actions were really like, ‘OK, hi, old friend.’”
Cooper added: “It was this cool bonding experience where Michael and Lovie got to know each other before Justin and Keisha, and that started the groundwork.”
Akil’s “Forever,” which tells the love story of two Black teens, hit Netflix screens on Thursday.
The post ‘Forever’ Stars Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr. Say Their ‘Weird’ First Encounter Was as Authentic as Their Characters’ Meet Cute appeared first on TheWrap.