Larenz Tate, Then
"This ain't no love thang. We just kickin' it." —Darius Lovehall
To hear Darius tell it, he and Nina were nothing more than what we'd call friends with benefits. Until, of course, she decides to run off to New York to see her ex-boo. Then his feelings get a little hurt, but she thinks he doesn't care. He rebounds; she rebounds (with his friend!). And suddenly, "just kickin' it" leads to a love jones that inspires his first book.
Larenz Tate, Now
Tate has kept a steady career in Hollywood since starring in Love Jones. Last year he filmed Gun Hill, a made-for-TV movie for BET directed by Reggie Rock Bythewood. From 2007 to 2011 he co-starred on FX's Rescue Me as Black Shawn. And fans of Love Jones stay tuned; he tweeted earlier this month: "Definitely lookin' to do something for you #lovejones fans … "
Nia Long, Then
"You always want what you want when you want it. Why is everything so urgent with you?" —Nina Mosley
Nina wasn't ready to get caught up in a love affair. She had just broken off an engagement and gotten fired from her photo-assistant job, and she just wanted to mellow out to an Isley Brothers CD. But Darius pressed on. They had sex on the first date, ended their friends-with-benefits situation and somehow ended up in the rain confessing their love for each other.
Nia Long, Now
In 2011 Long starred opposite Evan Ross in Mooz-Lum, a film about a black Muslim family's life after the Sept. 11 attacks. She briefly voiced Roberta Tubbs on Fox's The Cleveland Show before being replaced by Reagan Gomez-Preston.
Theodore Witcher, Then
Love Jones was Witcher's directorial debut, and he hasn't released another film since. Culture critic Mark Anthony Neal: "[Love Jones] embraced a notion of black love that was timeless." For many, the film can do no wrong.
Theodore Witcher, Now
Rumors of a Love Jones remake surfaced last year, with — gasp — talk of Tyler Perry getting involved. It turned out to be false. Witcher now calls himself a semiretired film director on his Twitter page. He recently explained to The Root why he never made a film after Love Jones.
Isaiah Washington, Then
"I thought you guys were just, you know, kickin' it." —Savon Garrison
Savon was Darius' friend with, perhaps, the most sense out of the bunch. He was married and going through his own relationship problems but offered advice and support to lovelorn Darius. At Sheila's party, however, he did bring along a date — quite trifling for a married man.
Isaiah Washington, Now
It seems as if Washington is always working, even after his Grey's Anatomy flap. According to IMDb.com, he has two films in postproduction: Blue Caprice (in which he'll play John Allen Muhammad, the Beltway sniper) and The Under Shepherd.
Lisa Nicole Carson, Then
"Unfortunately, I have to live vicariously through your sex life, Ms. Nina." —Josie Nichols
Josie was that friend, offering terrible advice when she had no man to prove that these "relationship tactics" actually worked: "If he gets mad, you know you got him." Oh, the games we'll play. (And don't forget it was she who first planted that seed to go out with Darius' friend Wood.)
Lisa Nicole Carson, Now
From 1997 to 2001, Carson could be seen as the funny sidekick opposite Calista Flockhart on Ally McBeal and as Eriq La Salle's baby mama on ER. However, shortly afterward, reports surfaced that Carson was dealing with mental-health issues.
Bill Bellamy, Then
"I think that I am Mr. Romance. You know, I believe in that sh—. Like flowers, candy, all that. Just not every day." —Hollywood
From Love Jones to How to Be a Player to The Brothers, Bellamy always seemed to play the slick-mouthed friend. In Love Jones he violated what seems like man code No. 1: Don't date my ex. Or, well, my ex-"friend with benefits."
Bill Bellamy, Now
He's currently acting in a film about sex, love and crazy antics called Sleeping Around. Play on, Bill.
Leonard Roberts, Then
"Poetry is the possibility of language." —Eddie Coles
Eddie hosted the spoken-word nights at the Sanctuary on Mondays.
Leonard Roberts, Now
Roberts is set to appear in two films this year: Savages and California Winter. His most memorable role since Love Jones is Sean Taylor, the captain in Drumline.
Bernadette Speakes, Then
Sheila tries to school Darius and company on the intricacies of romance in the opening scene. But of course, they're not trying to hear it.
Bernadette Speakes, Now
Speakes has appeared in a handful of TV shows since Love Jones, including Parenthood, Monk and Boston Legal. Currently she's the chief operating officer at Dreams Take a Minute Productions in Los Angeles.
Khalil Kain, Then
"I'm going out for some motherf—-ing Toasted Oats!" —Marvin Cox
Khalil Kain transitioned from the crew leader Raheem Porter in Juice to Nina's jerk of an ex-fiancé and Toasted Oats enthusiast in Love Jones. He didn't have many scenes, but Marvin's passion for cereal is just too funny to forget.
Khalil Kain, Now
Does Kain ever age? In 2010 he played Bill, a charmer-turned-rapist, in For Colored Girls. Like most of his Juice cast mates, he has also fared pretty well in Hollywood since 1992. He had recurring roles in the 1990s on Living Single and Lush Life. He played Tiger Woods in 1998. But of course, his longest on-screen role was in Mara Brock Akil's Girlfriends as Darnell, Maya's (Golden Brooks) on-again, off-again husband, from 2001 to 2007.
Dionne Farris, Then
"They say I'm hopeless, as a penny wit a hole in it."
Of course, Farris didn't appear in the film, but her voice was all over it. Her song "Hopeless" was featured on the film's stellar sound track.
Dionne Farris, Now
In October 2011 Farris released a mixtape, Lady Dy the Mixtape Part 1.