Blair Underwood almost appeared in the Dreamgirls movie. On a recent appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, the performer chatted with Hudson about the experience, who made her film debut in the same 2006 screen adaptation.
“That was the role that got away,” Underwood told Hudson on the show. During casting for the film, he was in the running to play Curtis Taylor Jr, a role that ultimately went to Jamie Foxx. “I wanted so badly to do that movie. Bill Condon, the director, came to a show that I was doing in New York called Purlie with Anika Noni Rose,” he explained. “My agent set it up to come watch me [because] he was thinking about me for the role. And then he ended up hiring Anika,” laughed Underwood.
He went on to explain that, before the Jamie Foxx casting was finalized, there was a potential issue with the soundtrack because he was under contract with Universal. “So for a week, he said, ‘If it doesn’t happen, the role is yours.'” However, the issue was solved and Foxx booked the role. In the interview, Underwood also admitted that he isn’t a strong singer. “I can carry a tune, but I can’t like Jamie,” he shared.
The 2006 film Dreamgirls, based on the Broadway musical, featured a cast including Jamie Foxx, Beyonce, Eddie Murphy, Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, and Jennifer Hudson. The movie was a critical and box office hit.
Underwood was last seen on Broadway as Captain Richard Davenport in Roundabout Theatre Company’s A Soldier’s Play and previously appeared as Stanley in the 2012 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. He also played the title role in Encores! City Center’s 2005 production of Purlie.
He may be best known as Jonathan Rollins on the NBC legal drama L.A. Law, which he played for seven years. He has received two Golden Globe Award nominations, three NAACP Image Awards and one Grammy Award. In recent years, he has appeared as Andrew Garner on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The New Adventures of Old Christine, Dirty Sexy Money and In Treatment, NBC’s The Event., and ‘s Quantico.
Photo Credit: Chris Haston/Warner Bros.
