Movies
How Lauren London made it work with Jonah Hill in ‘You People’
Although London admits she and Jonah Hill may not be the most believable couple, she explained what made the ‘You People’ stars click.
Lauren London has opened up about what made her and ‘You People’ co-star Jonah Hill click on screen despite having some initial reservations about the project.
The movie sees the two star alongside Eddie Murphy, Nia Long, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and David Duchovny as they try to bring their very different families together before walking down the aisle.
Released in select theaters on January 20 before its streaming release on January 27 on Netflix, the movie has proven to be a hit amongst users of the streaming service.
‘You People’ debuted at the top of the Netflix English-language film list for the week of January 23 to January 29, accumulating 55.65 million hours viewed during its first week of streaming.
That put it over 40 million hours ahead of the number two movie, ‘Inheritance’, which totalled 11.6 million hours viewed.
London had doubts about ‘You People’
In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, London admits she wasn’t sold about the project when she was initially approached by director Kenya Barris.
“At first, I thought, ‘Hmm, I don’t know, Kenya. Is this the story I want to tell right now? I need to meditate on it’,” said London. “He said ‘No, you have to do it. You have to do it.’ He said, ‘Have lunch with me and Jonah and another producer, Kevin.’ "
London said that the lunch helped convince her to take the role given the movie is about people from two different worlds coming together.
“Why would these two people really like each other?,” she said. “We have to showcase a real connection. They’re from two totally different worlds, and if you see them, you would never think that they would meet or hang out, whatever the case is.
“It was a conversation on connecting with people genuinely and going for the soul connection.”
London was surprised by her connection with Hill
London and Hill’s onscreen chemistry has received praise, which even the 35-year-old admits she didn’t expect.
“Well, yeah!,” she said when asked if their connection surprised her. “I’m a Black woman; he’s a white man.
“We actually have a lot in common in our lives — some of our experiences and some of the ways we look at life and some of the ways we’ve taken life in.
“And also, growing up in L.A., though we grew up in different areas. I think having Los Angeles in common, that was a part of our developing friendship too.”