She seized her opportunity.
In the mid-1990s, LisaRaye McCoy left her hometown Chicago and made her way to Los Angeles with dreams becoming a star. She was auditioning as much as she could looking for her big break, but she hadn’t landed the role that she felt could change the course her career. In 1996, she heard an opportunity that could gain her more exposure, so she decided to make her way to the audition. It would be a move that would change her life.
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“I remember this one particular video that was huge,” she told TV One. “It was Tupac’s video ‘Toss It Up’ with Danny Boy and Aaron Hall and K-ci and JoJo]. I said, ‘I am gon’ audition for this and I’m gon’ be very directable. They gon’ want me! So I went in there and I did my best little sexy dance moves]. And the man said, ‘You got the part.’ I was like, ‘Yes! Really, I’m an actress, here’s my resumé.’ He looked back and he said, ‘You got this job as the actress and model in this video.’ Oh, okay. Not a problem. But that’s okay, because a couple months after that, I get a call for an audition for Player’s Club.“
Her friend, actress and comedian Kym Whitley, said that LisaRaye was excited about the prospect landing a part in Ice Cube‘s directorial debut, Player’s Club. However, Kym didn’t know why anyone would be excited about getting naked on camera for the world to see. LisaRaye added, “I just wanted to be in a movie. I came to Hollywood to be famous. I just wanted to make some money, and I knew that this was Ice Cube. So, when they told me that I was playing a stripper, I was okay wit’ it.”
LisaRaye shared that she knew her body looked good and she didn’t care what anyone thought because she was going to have a film with Ice Cube, Jamie Foxx, and Bernie Mac on her resumé. “I was alright with it. Matter fact, I brought my daughter to set to let her know that this is a way life sometimes.” The actress also said that Ice Cube made sure that her nude dance scene was done tastefully, on a closed set, and he only made her film it twice. Check out her full interview below.