Regina King on Relationship with Marla Gibbs, Her New Movie Shirley & Acting with Her Sister

our first guest tonight is one of the greatest actresses to ever act, she has an Oscar, four Emmy Awards and a new critically acclaimed

movie

called will surely be released on Netflix tomorrow, please welcome Regina King, well, it's very good to see you, it's good to see you, how are you? you're doing it right now I'm fine, I'm glad to know I know you've been through a lot this past year, yeah, yeah, hey, uh, good to see you, Jimmy, good to see you too, did you see William? Shatner backstage I don't know, it just occurred to us that it was like it was something various Sympathy for the reunion show tonight I didn't see I didn't see Bill backstage huh, but I can't wait to see him, remember? scenes with him where you had a scene together um, but we didn't really have much interaction together in front of the camera, but at any moment you're with William Shatner, whether you're in the van or standing between takes.

It's funny, it's lively, it's got a joke, it's got an anecdote, it's got something, it's Tenny Crane, I mean, yeah, it is, that's right, and when you were little, did you ever imagine that you'd be in a van with Captain Kirk in sometime? No, I never, I never thought about that, you found something that really interests you, I wonder if this is something you remember and still have. It's a newspaper article from your local Thousand Oaks star in Thousand Oaks, California, wishing you a happy 17th birthday if your birthday wish came true. It's true, this 227 star would be on a trip around the world right now, its first stop in Europe.

I would like to go there and see the fashion. Have you ever done that? Yes, I eventually did. I would assume I want to be an interior designer. You did that? No, no, I like the clothes. I'm trying to read a lot about it and for his birthday last year you got a brand new blue Toyota MR2, oo that's a really good gift, yeah yeah I knew you were going. Getting it was a gift for me, I guess when you have a job at that age in television, you get a gift like that, like a Toyota, were you surprised by it?

You did it? However, for my mother it was very important for me to get a car that was a manual shift, uh, so that, friends, you wouldn't drive my car because many of you know that most people don't drive manual shift, so that it was her. The logic is that I and it's good to learn how to drive a stick shift. If you were good at driving the stick shift. I was. I'm still very good at driving a stick shift. And funny enough, I did the same thing with Ian. He wanted me to drive a stick shift because he didn't want anyone driving his car, uh, but nowadays no one drives a chip sck.

I mean, they really can barely tie their shoes, they drive nowadays. I mean most of my friends whose kids are um uh from parents who have mean they all like Uber yeah yeah wow that's weird yeah yeah that's weird. I was thin

king

about driving today right on the way to work, actually because I was in my car and I like driving to work, it's like a bit of time. I have that for myself and I was thin

king

, I have to tell my kids, well, I know they won't check in with them every time, when you get your first car, it's the greatest joy you can ever experience, that like Independence, I can go . wherever I want now, but the funny thing for me is everything that happened my mother she drove my car and had an accident your mother ruined you that's a twist my Toyota MR2 oh no she did yes you punished her how?

Bad was the accident not so bad was a fender bender but I like the concept of grounding I wish I was as quick with it yes no good maybe next time yes this is um we have a little gift for you here um uh, actually I was looking for a 1988 MR2 but we couldn't but is this the Matchbox car version from the accident or where did you find that? I don't know, maybe at the Matchbox car store, somewhere like that you have a big production team, yeah, well I do, but I'm going to tell you something that was my idea, yeah, um, so you're working Like a kid, I mean, and if you had money, could you spend it when you were a? teen actor i was able to get that MR2 but just uh no not much Gloria yeah she was she and she did it well it saved me money and it's nice yeah when I had a career break where I wasn't really booking jobs , I was very grateful that she had saved that money.

Did you go to a real high school? I did it, you did it, I did it. I am a product of La UniFi Escuela La UniFi Were you in Were you in teams? Did you do theater? Did you do any of that? I ran track in high school. Coach Nordell was my coach. Greetings to the coach. I don't know where in what events you ran track. I ran the 330 hurdles, the 110 hurdles and I was the alternate in the 4x4, do you remember who was the main runner in the 4x4? No, don't you see, isn't that how it works?

When you were at 227, it was Mara Gibbs, would she come watch you run on the track? Is she part of? like your life at that time personally she was a big part of my life but she didn't come to see me Run Track Mara um however um Mara is such a big part of you you know my desire to want to produce and yeah she really is because I got to see her do all those things that she didn't direct but she did produce, she didn't direct, yes, yes, but she also knows how to sing and she does everything.

She's like one of those people that she has everything. her talents, yes, absolutely, yes, we got to work with her on the Norman Lear specials and she was just incredible, she probably knew her lines better than anyone who was 30 years younger than her. I'm sure she knew everything, it was amazing. she also had a performing arts school called Crossroads Academy and I went there to do the play 227 actually the play before it was a show it was a play at Crossroads Theater which was also Mar that's right it was a play first theater, yes. I didn't know you were in I was in the play.

I didn't play her daughter in a play. I played another character named honey, who was the mean, fast girl along the way, but not yet so fast that she couldn't be. the substitute you were still the substitute we have to find out who that other R was Vina King is here her new

movie

is called Shirley I'll be right back I need you to be my national student coordinator um I'm looking at all the student organizations affiliated with the campaign in all the states where I am on the ballot organizing rallies on campus M I see, I am, I can't, I don't like the word can't, yes, I know, but I, Robert, this is the first year, 18 years. -old people will be able to vote in a national election to vote, they need to know that using their vote can make a difference, that is Regina King and Meas in Shirley, which is based not on the entire life but on the presidential career of Shirley Chisum, who is from Brooklyn, she was the first black congresswoman, um, who is black, um, yeah, black congresswoman.

She was going to say black congresswoman, yes, yes, of course, she was also the first black congresswoman and the first black congresswoman who was a lady. Also, yeah, I'm really glad that you and I caught that and I love how the movie looks and the graphics, even that everything is so well done and then you, um, you really remind me of Shirley Chisum, it's kind of like that. . I mean, I guess that's how it's supposed to be, but I think a lot of times when people play someone they don't necessarily want to like, they have a different take, but you, I mean, you could surely be Chism, oh well, the, the, The point is to embody that person, not to make an impression or impersonate someone, and it was very important for my

sister

and I, who also produced the film with me and are and are in the film with you and she's in the movie, she plays my

sister

in the movie, but it was very important for us to capture the woman behind the politician whose idea was for your sister to play your sister, it wasn't mine, it was John Ridley who, um , John Ridley wrote and directed the movie and he felt like you knew he had auditioned a couple of actors for the role and felt that Raina would be the best person to play my sister, so one day he asked her without me knowing that would play Muriel Shirley. sister and then she was fine when first she said no and then she said yes and then she said well let me talk to Regina and she called me and they said, you know, John thinks I should play Muriel and I said, "Do you think you should play Muriel and she was like, "Do you think I?" So we did this back and forth and I was like, look Raina, you know you're my anchor, you know she's an amazing producer and she's the boots on. the terrain and I It was like if you think you can do it, if you think you can dust off your

acting

skills and do it again because she was a child actress too and she did it and she killed it, she did it well, thank God because that could have been really awkward oh man, can you imagine?

I mean, you must have been so relieved when you said okay, she's good, she's good at this, yeah, but now you have a competitor out there, you know she's coming for me, yeah, yeah, that could have been a very awkward decision, especially because she is a producer on the movie, for example, we eliminated her, yeah, and you would have to have that discussion with her, you know, we eliminated you, yeah, like Raina Raina is spelled how re e i n a, then she is just a g. I just added a g for you, it's not that simple, obviously, I'm the older sister and um, Regina was subtracted as a G, yeah, no, my father felt that my name is Reina Reina in Latin, that Raina needed some that. royalty too and then Raina is queen in Spanish that caused confusion in your childhood never ever never of course we did get in trouble it would be true that my mother couldn't get it out but uh yeah, checking those like souvenir plates on the thing, really you could almost share one he just dubbed it a little bit um uh and this kid Lucas Hedges is uh he's fantastic too uh he's fantastic he's fantastic um Lucas was the only person that Lucas uh Hedges and Lance Reic who is Also on The two actors were in the film and that's what we wanted for those roles and when we contacted them, they both said yes, you filmed in Cincinnati, we, no one filmed in Cincinnati, right?

We did it, although we did it when you. you have a $2 budget you know you go to where you can get the incentives and you shoot um uh Cincinnati like New York you get a better you get more 50 you can make a dollar with 15 cents right yeah and my family is from Cincinnati so Which was also an added bonus being able to be there with family. Oh, so you saw when Raina appeared in the movie and you thought maybe they should be in the movie too yeah, yeah, yeah, did you adjust to that? Did you know it's family?

Yeah, sure, but yeah, one of our cousins, he has, collects older cars. Him and us, the movie takes place in 1972, so we needed older cars and he said, I bought you, you know? So Trale came out and dressed in his 72 gear and he had his car and you know he was, it was a proud moment for him and it was also a problem, someone had probably been yelling at him for keeping all those cars for all those . years and he finally said, "You see why I had those cars for all those years finally well, it's wonderful to see you, the movie is called Shirley, it's about Shirley Chisum and her run for president of the United States, that's right, won?" she didn't win spoiler alert she didn't win she's in select theaters now and tomorrow on Netflix a king all right side with William sh B