Late rapper-actor 2Pac allegedly tried to hit on Lucy Liu when they were costars in the 1997 crime drama Gridlock’d.
According to actor Bokeem Woodbine, who also starred in the gritty cult classic, 2Pac, who was slain in 1996, was interested in Liu at the time of filming. During his life, 2Pac was romantically involved with multiple women, including Kidada Jones and Madonna.
While recently chatting with The Art of Dialogue, around the four-minute mark of the video below, the Queen & Slim star was asked about the “story” of 2Pac and Liu. Calling the moment a “funny anecdote,” Woodbine recalled that the actress practiced with “escrima sticks,” which 2Pac accidentally stumbled upon.
“I just remember one day on set, ‘Pac coming to the knock on my trailer,” Woodbine began. “And he was like, ‘Yo, man, what are you doing?’ I was like, ‘I’m just chilling.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, man. I just came back from Lucy’s room and I’m trying to spit game.'”
The actor recalled 2Pac saying that Liu didn’t “understand” that he was trying to flirt with her, but Liu just wanted to show him the escrima sticks, which are traditionally used in martial arts.
“He was like, ‘Okay, well, maybe if I feign some interest and act like I’m interested in what she’s trying to talk to me about, it’ll get me closer to sealing the deal.'”
The Charlie’s Angels star ultimately had 2Pac swinging the sticks, although Woodbine said his late friend was just trying to “get at her.”
“So, I’m just cracking up,” Woodbine continued. “And I said, ‘How’d it work? Did it work?’ He’s like, ‘No, it didn’t work.’ I said, ‘Ah, don’t worry about it, man. You know, you can’t win them all.'”
Woodbine said that there wasn’t a language barrier since the Chinese-American actress was born in New York, but she probably wasn’t “vibing” 2Pac “in that kind of way.”
“Or maybe it just went over her head, like, she didn’t know what he [was talking about]. But he was telling me like, ‘Yeah, you know, I’m trying to trying to get to know her and the only thing she wants to talk about is waving these sticks around,'” Woodbine concluded.
Although 2Pac’s friendship with Liu was short-lived, the rapper maintained a relationship with Woodbine, who was cast in his music video for “I Ain’t Mad At Cha.”
On her brief time acting alongside 2Pac, Liu told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2023 that the artist was “nice” and that they had a “great time together.” “It’s so strange to think that he’s gone now,” she continued.
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