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Copyright 2007 Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Jet
May 28, 2007
SECTION: COVER STORY; Pg. 60
LENGTH: 1015 words
HEADLINE: Omar Epps;
TELLS HOW TO HAVE THE REAL 'JUICE' IN THE INDUSTRY AND OPENS UP ABOUT LOVE
BYLINE: By Margena A. Christian.
JET MAGAZINE
BODY:
It seems like just yesterday when a then-unknown teen named Omar Epps made his major film debut in the
critically-acclaimed 1992 movie Juice. Fifteen years later, Epps is a household name and stars each week on "House,"
one of TV's highest-rated medical dramas.
"I'm still around," Epps told JET. "I've always wanted to have a career with legs and be here for the long run.
Having done my first film at 18 and being on a hit show at 33 is not bad. We're the top-scripted show on television right
now."
Epps portrays neurologist Dr. Eric Foreman on the FOX series, whose season finale is next week on May 29.
"He's sort of trying to find himself. Three years of working with Dr. House is taking a toll on him," said Epps. "As
of now he feels the only way to rectify the situation is to resign. He admires Dr. House, his ability as a doctor, but he
doesn't want to take on his personality."
This year Epps won an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. He's also been
named one of TV's sexiest men and is in an elite class of only a few Blacks to star on a top show on a major network.
"I don't feel like I'm carrying the torch for anyone, but at the same time I recognize the relevance of a Black face on
television because when I grew up, there weren't that many Black faces on television," he said. "But I've said this
before, when it comes to Hollywood, Hollywood is about one color-green. Certainly there is racism everywhere in
America. It is woven into the fabric of our society. But as Spike Lee has said, we have to even the playing field. It's not
about being in front of the camera, it's about being behind the camera."
He just formed a media company, Brooklyn Works Films, so that he could do just that with his own "juice." For
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Omar Epps; TELLS HOW TO HAVE THE REAL 'JUICE' IN THE INDUSTRY AND OPENS UP ABOUT LOVE Jet
May 28, 2007
many of the projects, Epps will serve as writer, producer and star.
No stranger to television, his breakout role came in 1996 as a surgical resident on the Emmy Award-winning NBC
drama "ER." The character was hit by a train, leaving viewers wondering if he committed suicide or was pushed.
"They had 40 million viewers," he said. "People started putting the name with the face."
Epps' audience has expanded since his work on television, but it was his work on the silver screen that first got him
noticed. Epps played Q, an aspiring deejay who reluctantly participates in a robbery gone bad with his three friends. He
had a commanding presence for a newcomer in Juice, where he starred opposite the late Tupac Shakur.
"He was a smart guy. A lot of people might not think that because of the way he used to run around and sort of
present himself. That was the thing. He was a master manipulator. Everything was for a reason," Epps said of Shakur.
Subsequent roles followed in films like Higher Learning, Scream 2, The Mod Squad, The Wood, In Too Deep,
Against The Ropes and Alfie. He also appeared in the TV movies Daybreak, Deadly Voyage, First Time Felon and
Conviction.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, Omar Hashim Epps is an only child raised by his mother. Bonnie Epps retired after 35 years
in education where she moved up the ranks from teacher to principal and finally to superintendent.
He began acting as a child, but it was in music where he first found the spotlight.
"I went on tour with (Queen) Latifah, dancing and singing background," Epps said. "We were called Vision. I had a
record deal before I had a movie deal."
A former singer and rapper, Epps composed the theme music for "The Wayans Bros." TV show. He and Marlon
Wayans have been best friends since age 14.
Generally Epps is guarded about his personal life, but he seems to glow when he begins to talk about his wife,
singer Keisha (Spivey), formerly of the group Total. The two have known each other since 1992. It was their love of
music that brought them together.
"For me she was the one that got away," said Epps, whose been married to Keisha, 36, a little more than a year. "I
always wondered why we never took it to the next level. We dated briefly back in the day, but we had a friendship and
we were very close...I kind of knew she was the one immediately, but you want to tell your mind not to listen to your
heart."
The friendship "marinated" throughout the years, he said. Epps later became involved in a lengthy relationship with
actress Sanaa Lathan, his love interest in the 2000 film Love & Basketball. Keisha, early on, dated Andre Benjamin of
OutKast.
The trio Total was discovered by Diddy and signed in 1995 to his Bad Boy label. The group sang on the late
Notorious B.I.G.'s songs Juicy and One More Chance. Total's hit songs included Can't You See, No One Else, Kissin'
You, What About Us? and Trippin'. Epps and Keisha remained close friends and co-wrote one of the group's early
songs, Tell Me.
"The moment I met him I knew he was special," said Keisha. "He was a mystical energy with great substance. I
couldn't understand it and now that I look back, it wasn't meant for us to understand it. To me it was greater, bigger than
where we were in our lives. We were younger, learning, growing and both getting into the industry."
Epps said it was about timing. "I was in a place in my life where I was ready to cut out the fat and get rid of the BS
and she was in the same place," said Epps, who proposed in 2004. "We were both ready for something real and there we
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Omar Epps; TELLS HOW TO HAVE THE REAL 'JUICE' IN THE INDUSTRY AND OPENS UP ABOUT LOVE Jet
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were."
They are the parents of a 2-year-old daughter, K'mari Mae. The name is a combination of both Keisha and Omar,
who is also the father of a 7-year-old daughter, Alyanna Yasmine, from a previous union.
Keisha said that people would be surprised to know that her husband is not only an amazing actor, but his voice is
like satin. "He can blow you away," she laughs. "That's how he wooed me off my feet. He has the tone like Musiq or
Donny Hathaway. I'm going to claim that role for him right now in a movie about Donny Hathaway."
When he isn't working 14-hour days, Epps says he enjoys spending time with his family. They live in Los Angeles.
"We have a great friendship and I never really had that with a woman I had a relationship with," he said. "We get
each other, and it's as simple as that."
GRAPHIC: Picture 1, "House" star Omar Epps enjoys a thriving acting career that began as a teen. JET photo by
Valerie Goodloe
Picture 2, Epps stars as neurologist Dr. Eric Foreman on "House." During the season finale, Foreman decides to part
ways with Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie). Isabella Vosmikova/FOX
Picture 3, He made his feature film acting debut in 1992's Juice, which also starred Tupac Shakur, Jermaine Hopkins,
and Khalil Kain. The movie was about four Harlem friends who sought power and respect, "juice," by plotting a
robbery. Adger W. Cowans
Picture 4, Epps and his wife of a year, Keisha, enjoy a moment together in Los Angeles. "All my prayers were answered
and it all fell into place," said Keisha of marrying her close friend of more than a decade. JET photo by Valerie Goodloe
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