“We’re Gonna Get Into Some Shit”: Regina Hall, by Queen Latifah

When Queen Latifah talks about Regina Hall, it’s with the certitude of someone who’s observed her magic firsthand. “I just loved working with you on Girls Trip because I got to actually witness your greatness,” Latifah said when the pair reunited over Zoom earlier this month. “It ain’t no telling what’s going to come out of your mouth.” Unpredictability is Hall’s… hallmark, whether she’s anchoring a raucous comedy or quietly steering a scene back to its emotional core. That same precision drives the 55-year-old actor’s performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, where she plays Deandra, a revolutionary leader whose authority is shaped less by brute force than quiet conviction. Tasked with protecting Willa, played by newcomer Chase Infiniti, Deandra embodies the film’s deeper preoccupations with loyalty, resilience, and revolutionary duty. In a wide-ranging conversation that doubled as a reunion, Latifah and Hall reflected on craft, trust, grief, and the possibility of Girls Trip, the sequel. “We’ll take it from here,” Hall quipped.

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QUEEN LATIFAH: Oh, there’s Regina. Hi.

REGINA HALL: Hi, baby.

LATIFAH: Hi. So where are you? This looks amazing behind you.

HALL: I’m in New York. You know what La, you’ve done this several times.

LATIFAH: You on the run. You look good though.

HALL: It’s a lot. You know I’m in sweats all the time. When you’ve got to do hair and makeup, that’s the beast. I think if you love getting dressed up—

LATIFAH: Then it’s your thing. But if not, then it’s a lot.

HALL: A lot.

LATIFAH: So the movie’s fantastic. How’s it feel to be part of one of the biggest movies of the year?

HALL: I mean, it’s nice. You know what? It’s like, to bring up another movie, Girls Trip, it’s nice when people like your movie and you like it. When it’s both.

LATIFAH: Where’d you shoot?

HALL: We shot all over California. They shot in El Paso, that’s where Benicio and Leonardo were, and all of those non-actors who were in that, they weren’t actors.

LATIFAH: That energy was so smooth too. So perfect.

HALL: It was. And then all the military people involved, the guy who interrogated me—real military.

LATIFAH: Really? I don’t think I would have wanted to encounter him. He seemed a little too comfortable, a little too cool in his spot.

HALL: But man, was he great? He was so nice. Paul [Thomas Anderson] was just like, “Well, just say what you would say.” And he’s such a nice guy, but there was a casual, aloof coolness. “Well, I’ll shoot you if I have to.”

LATIFAH: What made you want to be involved in it?

HALL: Well, I love Paul.

LATIFAH: I was about to say, did you know Paul? What was the process of you even getting involved in this?

HALL: I was a big fan of Paul’s. We had met at a film festival. Turns out we’re neighbors, and we were just neighborly for years. And then he was just like, “I’ve got a script.” He’s like, “I’m doing tweaks and I’m going to give it to you. ” Never mentioned it again, and a few months passed. And I was like, “Did he forget?” And then I was like, “Maybe he changed his mind.” But I will say this: when I met Paul, it was at South By. Support the Girls had just come out and he was like, “Man, do I love that movie.”

LATIFAH: Wow.

HALL: Isn’t that great?

LATIFAH: That’s what’s up. I mean, Regina, you’re so special.

HALL: Thank you, La.

LATIFAH: No, you really are because you are a brilliant, brilliant actress, but there’s really nothing you can’t do. You’re so smart and clever and interesting. So I wonder, out of all the things that you’ve done, what do you love in your repertoire? ‘Cause for me, when I did Last Holiday, it felt like I needed that movie for myself. That movie was teaching me how to live life to the fullest, live it like it’s my last day. I can’t say all movies do that, or that all projects elicit a human change. So are there things that were just fun, or that gave you hell, or that changed you?

HALL: Listen, About Last Night and Scary Movie because it was the first time I think I had never done comedy.

LATIFAH: What the fuck?

HALL: I know. I never had done comedy and I was like, “Ooh, I got it. ” And I got to work with Wayans, so I felt like I learned a lot from Keenen.

LATIFAH: Oh, I can imagine. Like what?

HALL: He was like, “It’s no vanity in it. Just do. Trust your instincts.” You know when you admire what someone else does and then they say, “You did a great job.” That resonates differently. It gave me confidence in comedy. I don’t care if a movie doesn’t even do well. They’re all my babies. I loved About Last Night. I loved Girls Trip. I love One Battle. I love them all. And then ours was great. You know why? Because that was a discovery. Obviously I had met you from your show. But when we finally worked together on Girls Trip, that might’ve been one of my most fun times on a movie.

LATIFAH: That was fun.

HALL: That was fun. And Support the Girls, of course, because that had a critical effect. But I couldn’t even… I just love them all.

LATIFAH: I just loved working with you on Girls Trip because I got to actually witness your greatness. I mean, just really being around it on a regular basis. It ain’t no telling what’s going to come out of your mouth. As soon as you get that little snap, oh god, I don’t know where this is going or what she’s going to say.

HALL: My god. Of course I knew you were funny from watching you, but the jokes on set…

LATIFAH: Yo, it was a spoof.

HALL: [Laughs] I just like movies when I have memories that are good. That’s the best part of what we do, I feel.

LATIFAH: But how are you doing in general? How are you feeling? How’s life?

HALL: Life is good. I mean, you know I still miss mommy.

LATIFAH: We’re in a club that we don’t necessarily want to be in for real.

HALL: But you know what? I will say this, it did help tremendously when mommy passed and you called me and you were like, “I get it and I’m here.” There’s something very specific about someone who fundamentally understands what that grief is like.

LATIFAH: It’s inexplicable. You can try to explain it, but…

HALL: No, it’s weird. You can’t. And your highest moments, you just wish they were there. They got to see Girls Trip.

LATIFAH: Yep.

HALL: They got to see that. But I guess I’m always navigating that.

LATIFAH: Do you get the visits like I do? Those occasional, “I’m still here.”

HALL: I do.

LATIFAH: Good.

HALL: She always lets me know she’s still here. You know what else is weird? I have never looked more like my mother. It’s like there’s a physical part of her that is… I don’t know. I say things that I never said until she passed that are just like my mom.

LATIFAH: That’s what happens. It’s a trip without the luggage, as my aunt would say. But you know what? It’s something I’m grateful for. Sometimes I look in the mirror and I’m like, “Oh, hey mom.”

HALL: I do too. It’s funny, the things I didn’t love about myself before—now, if it reminds me of my mom, I don’t dislike it. It’s a weird thing.

LATIFAH: Good. I really want to know a little more about the movie because you got to do such fun, specific things in this film. And there’s a lot of people on that set. I mean, it’s crazy when you work on sets with huge people. Everyone has some big thing to do or has some big personality. I’m thinking of of how you delivered this laser-focused performance.  Because I’m trying not to smack the military man who was interviewing you, but I’m like, “You made my baby cry!” I’m like, “Shit, what is about to happen?” And when you come along for this rescue, it’s tight. It’s tight. You know what I mean?

HALL: [Laughs] Yeah.

LATIFAH: And she’s great.

HALL: Oh, Chase [Infiniti] is amazing. It was her first movie. She’s so talented, bright future. Paul was like, “She doesn’t know you. She doesn’t know your name. She doesn’t know anything about you, but you’ve got two minutes to convince her to go with you. And you can’t alarm her. She’s at a dance.” And I think that direction kind of centered my thought of who Deandra was. The Obi-Wan Kenobi—she watches and she sees everything. She sees Perfidia and Ghetto Pat. Willa, or Charlene, is the baby of the French 75. So when she has to go, I think you always carry that weight. You know her mother’s gone, you know her mother is a rat.

LATIFAH: Yeah, but there was a whole lot before that. There was a whole lot that happened before it went south. I mean, she was about it.

HALL: Teyana [Taylor] is amazing.

LATIFAH: Teyana’s fantastic in the movie. I mean, everyone is. I just feel that there’s no difference between what she did versus what Goodfellas turns out to be. You know what I mean? It’s all great when it’s great, but at some point things will go south in these situations. And then it’s like, “What do you do? Who are you?”

HALL: In an instant. And emotionally, you feel the stakes in Deandra. There’s comedy in certain parts, but Deandra’s like, “This is not a game. This is serious.”

LATIFAH: But I feel like that’s a gift that you have, because even when we did Girls Trip, Tiffany [Haddish] is out there doing big comedy, that in-your-face kind of thing. But you are the connective tissue in so much of that movie, you know what I mean? I have to give you props every time I talk about it because people assume that Tiffany came up with all these funny lines ‘cause she’s the comedian. Not that it’s one or the other, but I was like, “Regina is the one. Regina thought of this. Regina’s on that. Regina’s in here.” Because your brain just thinks so quickly and you’re so on the spot. You could write for all four of us at any given time.

HALL: Let me just say, the four of us make me happy. When I think about the four of us, I smile.

LATIFAH: Me too. We’re gonna get into some shit the next time we make this movie when we turn about… 67.

HALL: When the AARP kicks in.

LATIFAH: “Can I get my card?”

HALL: They’re going to call it “Old Girls Trip.”[Laughs]

LATIFAH: You know what? Let us do that. We got this.

HALL: We’ll take it from here.

LATIFAH: But that’s exactly what you do. And then, at the same time, you can bring it right back to center, right back to something intense, sincere, emotional. You can’t really have this film without that character. Because otherwise you’re just shooting, “Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.” But what creates the clarity and the definition between some of those other colors is the fact that there’s this clear color right here. That’s something you have to deliver and you do it so well. So, great job. Great job on everything. This is what you do.

HALL: Listen, you do it too.

LATIFAH: It’s what we do. [Laughs]

HALL: This is what we do. And that’s the joy of what we do. I’ve watched you do comedy, do drama, do action, shoot motherfuckers up, be loving, be terrifying and then set it off like, “She ain’t right y’all.” And you do music and produce and create a label and a million other things. You are a beacon for all women.

LATIFAH: Likewise.

HALL: But because you are a Black woman, we really get to have a lot of pride in your journey. We could barely get shit Girls Trip done because they’re like, “Queen. Hi, Queen.” I’m like, “No, Queen’s not Queen right now. Queen’s in the scene.” But that’s the kind of reaction. Remember it’s like-

LATIFAH: Oh, I tell people, “You better get this quick because if you want to shoot in downtown Newark, you better get this shot fast or I’m going to be in ADR hell.”

HALL: I’m grateful for all you do. I’m grateful for this. It’s like, this is the good stuff.

LATIFAH: Listen, call me for anything you want. But I’m going to say this real quick: make sure you have fun and enjoy the moments because they don’t always come around like this. You don’t always get something this wonderful to be a part of, something that’s going to be this massive. So I would just say, make sure you’re having fun and you’re enjoying it and enjoying your friends, your castmates, the people you’ve worked with and the fun rooms you’re going to be in, because they’re going to feel like class reunions in a lot of ways.

HALL: They do.

LATIFAH: And then you’ll be off to the next thing.

HALL: I’m going to remember that.

LATIFAH: That’s right. I love you, girl.

HALL: I love you.