THE TAVIS SMILEY SHOW - ACTRESS NIA LONG ON CELEBRITY AND STAYING GROUNDED (National Public Radio) 12/7/2004
Did you know that the little boy who played Monroe's nephew is Nia Long's real life son? How do I know? Because she said so. This is as close to a full transcript as I could get.

Tavis Smiley: For NPR in Los Angeles, I'm Tavis Smiley. In 1991 she delivered her breakout performance as Brandi in Boyz N the Hood. Since then Nia Long has built a reputation as a fine actress playing roles from the innocent girl next door to the sexy vixen. Have you seen her on the cover of Essence this month? Damn. The young diva not only helps to raise box office numbers, she's currently raising the temperatures of co-star Jude Law in the film Alfie. If that's not enough, we have the pleasure of seeing Nia in her regular role as officer Sasha Monroe each Friday in the NBC drama Third Watch.
{Clip from "Rat Bastard"}
Tavis: Hey Nia.
Nia Long: Hello.
Tavis: How are you?
Nia: I'm fabulous. Thank you.
Tavis; Yes, you are. I wouldn't lie, that Essence cover is awfully fantastic.
Nia: Oh thank you. I have to thank the girls over there. They always make me look good.
Tavis: And that son of yours is just too handsome.
Nia: I know it. It's my best production yet.
Tavis: How you gonna top that?
Nia: I don't know, man.
Tavis: But you can't top it 'cause you don't have another one or two or---
Nia: I--- And you know what? I want to. I really want to. It's the greatest thing ever. I feel like I've grown so much as a woman, I've learned to be more patient. I've learned to just kind of not take life so seriously, 'cause with kids you can't. You know, from one moment to the next. Like this morning we had a fight over--- not a fight but he was wanting to wear boots and it's hot and he's going to the park so I said "but Massai, your feet are going to hurt." So I just said you know what, put it in a plastic bag. I put the tennis shoes and you know, his dad can switch 'em out when he gets to the park, so...
Tavis: But he wanted to wear his boots.
Nia: He wanted to wear his boots. His cowboy boots. With sweatpants, no less. And he had like four t-shirts on this morning.
Tavis: Where did he get, or as it were, not get, a sense of style?
Nia: He's four, so he's a very creative child. And he's very independent, so I try to give him that room to make his own choices. If you wanna wear four t-shirts that don't match knock yourself out. What can I do?
Tavis: Um, how has motherhood changed Nia Long?
Nia: I've always been organized, but now I'm extremely organized. Because I don't have the time to sort of get it together. I have to consistently keep it together and so that I can go to work everyday, make sure that he has what he needs, make sure I attend PTA meetings and bakesales and, you know, come and see you, and play a cop on television. But I will say I'm like the coolest mom, 'cause my son thinks I'm a police officer so it's like, when he sees me in the uniform he's like "my mom's the coolest, she carries a gun and she drives in a police car."
Tavis: Now, let me ask though, since your son is impressed that his mama is a cop, does that work from a discipline standpoint?
Nia: Um, yes. Except for the fact that he does realize that it's not real so I can no longer say "you're gonna get a ticket." I used to always say to him "you know, you're gonna get a ticket if you don't listen to me." And he's like "mommy, it's only TV." 'Cause he actually plays my nephew on the show so he's done a couple episodes with me, so he really is starting to understand sort of, the fact that it's television, it's--- it's film, it's not real. And he see's himself in Essence and he goes "that's me." And so, you know, I try not to overexpose him, but he's such a great kid and he's so social. He's very social so...
Tavis: Wonder where he got that from.
Nia: Not me, 'cause I am a homebody.
Tavis: Since he is being exposed and you said you don't want to overexpose him, I assume you do that by design. But upon reflection, do you really want him to go in this business?
Nia: You know, it was sort of Brooke Kennedy, who was one of the producers on our show last year, said "you know we're gonna write a role for your little sister and your sister has a son and the son is around Massai's age. It won't be a lot of lines. What do you think?" So I asked him. I said "do you wanna come to work with Mommy and be on TV?" And he said yes. It goes against everything I've ever said I was gonna do as a mother. But the truth is, he's young enough where there's no pressure. He's not competing. I'll never put him in a situation this young to compete for anything except for schooling and things like that. I--- I just kinda realized that he liked it. He loves the guys. I work with the greatest crew anyone could ever ask for and they're all men and he's really a boy's boy so he likes coming and just hanging out. And if he tells me no, he won't have to do it anymore.
Tavis: I did not know that a pool table could be so sexy. I don't know if it was you, or the table, or Jude, but I've never seen a sexier pool table.
Nia: Well, I have to tell you something. In theory it was the sexiest fantasy a woman could ever ask for, but the actual shooting and the logistics of it? I think I had black and blue marks for weeks.
Tavis: For those who've not seen the movie Alfie, starring Nia Long and one Jude Law, there is a scene where a pool table plays a supporting role, shall we say. That you might wanna check out. I mentioned Boyz N the Hood a moment ago. When you look back on it now, years later, what do you think in retrospect?
Nia: You know, when we were creating the film and I met John I'll never forget the moment---
Tavis: John Singleton, the director.
Nia: John Singleton, yes.
Tavis: Nominated for an academy Award---
Nia: That's right.
Tavis: ---for his first film basically.
Nia: I was sitting in the waiting room and there were tons and tons of kids who had clearly never done anything, and I didn't realize at the time, I don't think any of us did, because the story is so real to, first of all, how I grew up...
{Clip from Boyz N the Hood}
Nia: We really created a classic. This is a film that will teach film students. It's a film that opened up this whole genre of urban filmmaking and also opened the doors for so many black actors and actresses to work and for Hollywood to take note that we had some incredible stories to tell, and we have more to tell. It's such a blessing to be a part of that. I just only hope as artists we start to say no to the things that are beneath us so that we can mature and grow within the industry and tell, uh, more intellectual, smarter, where you're showing women empowered stories. And that's sort of been my goal and it's hard sometimes because I'm not a millionaire, like, I can't just say no. I have bills to pay, I have a child to take care of. But I always try to create an environment for myself where I don't live beyond my means, where I take one day at a time and kind of keep everything somewhat balanced so that I'm not forced to take roles that just don't really help us grow in this industry.
Tavis: Let me close the conversation with a question that I really don't wanna ask, but I'm so intrigued by what you had to say about it. But I read somewhere the other day where you said that you were actually happy being single.
Nia: I am. I'm happy being single because I'm happy with myself. You know, women, we, from the time that we're, you know 12, 13, 14, 15 years old it's embedded in us to find a man, get married, raise a family, make it work , stick in there, be patient, and I've had ups and downs in my love life. I had an engagement that lasted five years and I thought that, you know, this was a man I was gonna spend the rest of my life with, and truthfully, it didn't work. It wasn't right for me, and it was a hard lesson to learn because you don't wanna feel as if you failed at anything, and I think in this industry it's very difficult to maintain the balance between personal and professional. And so when I say that I'm happy I don't mean that I'm anti-men or that I don't want to get married and I don't want to have more children, 'cause I want that more than anything. But I also know the importance of continuing to grow as an artist and so for me, I'm not focused on finding a guy, like he'll come to me when the time is right and I believe that God will put that man in my life .
Tavis: So you are okay? There's not---
Nia: I'm mentally stable. You know, men have huge egos and there's a certain image of what you'd like to see your woman doing and being and I don't fit into those shoes.
Tavis: Okay, you can leave now.
Nia: I'm sorry, did I insult you? I love men. I love black men. They're the best.
Tavis: I'm just teasing, I'm happy to have you here. Actress Nia Long joining us in our L.A. studios. You can catch her Friday nights on NBC's Third Watch and in the new film Alfie.
Nia: And Are We There Yet? with Ice Cube on the 22nd of January.
Tavis: Always a pleasure to see you.
Nia: Thank you so much, Tavis. I'm so glad we finally got a chance to hook up.

OClick for Audio of the Interview (11.8mb)