Actor Michael Ealy may be married now (cue the groans) but at least in the movies, he’s still single. In his latest, About Last Night with Kevin Hart,Regina Hall and Joy Bailey, he’s a single guy who finds love but is sabotaged by his hater friend, played by Hart. In real life, Ealy says that despite his good looks and the fact that he’s happily married now, things weren’t always so easy. The DC-born, Maryland raised actor broke hearts when he announced he was married at the end of 2012, to actress Khatira Rafiqzada, of Middle Eastern descent.
He told Rolling Out magazine earlier this year that she wasn’t “his type” but that he went with his heart. Though Ealy is now considered by anyone with working eyeballs to be gorgeous, he says a bout with acne in high school left him “paralyzingly shy.” At the University of Maryland, there was a young lady named Imani, who may be kicking herself right now because Ealy says that while he wanted to be with her, she wasn’t interested long-term.
“I tried and tried again to try and be with her,” Ealy told the Tom Joyner Morning Show. “I really wanted to be in a committed relationship with her and she didn’t want it. In college, women are often attracted to upperclassmen and the Greek guys and that silliness and that wasn’t me. I was still trying to find myself.”
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Love and relationships are explored in About Last Night, an all-black remake of the original 1986 movie starring Demi Moore and Rob Lowe that is considered a classic of the era. Ealy says that he and Hart had good bromantic chemistry and that Hart stepped up to the demands of the role.
“Anytime you’re working with someone like Kevin or anyone on the set, it’s always good to be able to talk to each other about different beats and moments. Kevin definitely helps me out on the comic side and I’m going to help him out on the drama side. We work really well together and I think people are going to be really surprised by his performance. Ironically enough, he’ s the one who has all the swag in this particular dynamic duo of ours and it’s kind of fun and interesting to see.”
Ealy had to step up too – in the gym. As a 40-year-old playing a 28-year-old, he had to get in youthful shape.
“Danny is about 28 in this film and the studio decided I had a little too much man weight. So I had to shed about 25 and that was hard. I ain’t gonna lie. The diet was crazy and the discipline was there but I think it paid off in the end.”
About Last Night opens Friday, February 14 and yes that’s Valentine’ Day so get your tickets now.
