If you grew up quoting The Wood, laughing at Mike and Slim’s antics, or rooting for Roland to make it down the aisle, chances are the 1999 coming-of-age classic still holds a special place in your heart.
Directed by Rick Famuyiwa, The Wood transported audiences to 1980s Inglewood, California, affectionately known as “The Wood,” for a nostalgic look at Black boyhood, friendship, first love, and growing up. The film follows three best friends—Mike, Roland, and Slim—as a wedding-day crisis sends them down memory lane, revisiting the moments that shaped their lives.
With a memorable ensemble featuring Omar Epps, Taye Diggs, Richard T. Jones, Sanaa Lathan, Malinda Williams, LisaRaye McCoy, and Sean Nelson, the movie became a beloved staple of Black cinema, earning recognition from the NAACP Image Awards, Black Reel Awards, and ASCAP, according to Essence.
But decades after the film first hit theaters, one question remains: where is the cast of The Wood?
From starring in hit television dramas to becoming leading ladies, Broadway performers, and behind-the-scenes creatives, these stars have kept busy since taking us back to the block. Let’s catch up with the cast and see what they’ve been doing since their days in Inglewood.
1. Omar Epps as Mike
Before becoming one of television’s most recognizable faces, Omar Epps had already made a name for himself in films like Juice and Higher Learning. In The Wood, he played Mike, one of Roland’s closest friends, whose memories of their childhood help drive the film’s story.
After leaving the neighborhood behind, Epps took his career to another level as Dr. Eric Foreman on the hit medical drama House. He later returned to the world of crime drama as Kanan Stark’s father, Detective Malcolm Howard, in Power Book III: Raising Kanan.
Epps has continued working across film and television, proving that his career stretches far beyond the nostalgia of the late ’90s.
Epps is still acting and bringing complex characters to the screen, keeping his place among the familiar faces of Black film and television.
The post Back To ‘The Wood!’ Where Are Sanaa Lathan, Malinda Williams, Omar Epps & The Rest Of The Coming-Of-Age Classic’s Cast Now? appeared first on Bossip.