Tisha Campbell almost turned down ‘Martin’ — until Martin Lawrence showed up at her mother’s house
TheGrio...
The actress had already secured a 13-episode ABC commitment when Lawrence made a personal pitch for her to play Gina.
Tisha Campbell nearly missed out on playing Gina Waters Payne on “Martin.” The hesitation came after initially deciding that the sitcom’s pilot was too uncertain compared with a 13-episode ABC commitment she had already secured.
Campbell recently recalled that Martin Lawrence personally pushed her to reconsider, even showing up at her mother’s house to convince her to join his new show.According to People, she ultimately trusted her instincts, giving up what she described as “a lot of money” to take the role. Campbell, 57, said Lawrence had been telling her for years that he wanted her to play his girlfriend in a future project.
The two had already worked together in the 1990 film “House Party,” and Lawrence would repeatedly tell Campbell that if he got a movie or television deal, he wanted her as his on-screen girlfriend. Campbell said she initially treated those comments casually because actors often hear promises that never materialize. Years later, however, Martin Lawrence approached her at a film premiere and told her that something was finally happening.
The timing created a difficult decision. Campbell said an ABC pilot she had worked on had been picked up for 13 episodes, giving her a more secure opportunity than Lawrence’s “Martin,” which at that point had only been ordered as a pilot. When Lawrence called to say they were ready to make his show, Campbell told him she would have to turn him down. Lawrence wasn’t ready to accept that answer. “He was like, ‘Nah, nah, I’m coming over to your house. Where do you live?’” Campbell recalled.
Campbell told the story during an appearance on Taboo’s “Comics & Kicks”. At the time, her longtime best friend Tichina Arnold was staying with Campbell’s mother while auditioning for roles in Los Angeles. Arnold had also auditioned for “Martin,” although Lawrence did not initially know that she and Campbell were close friends. When Lawrence arrived at the house, he found Arnold at the door before sitting down with Campbell to make his case.
Campbell said the two went back and forth before she ultimately decided to take the risk. She recalled feeling that “God kept telling me, ‘You got to go with Martin.’” Campbell went on to play Gina Waters Payne, Martin Lawrence’s girlfriend and later wife, on the sitcom. The series premiered in 1992 and became one of the defining Black sitcoms of the 1990s. Campbell’s decision also brought together a cast that included Lawrence, Tichina Arnold, Carl Anthony Payne II and the late Thomas Mikal Ford.
TheGrio noted that Martin ultimately ran for more than 130 episodes and remains in syndication, with Campbell recently reflecting on how none of the cast initially expected the show to become a multigenerational cultural staple.