Revisit These Throwback Photos Of The Best Man Cast, 23 Years Later

Twenty-three years after The Best Man and nine after the film’s bittersweet holiday sequel, Harper, Jordan, and co. are back for The Best Man: The Final Chapters. As you prepare to marathon the Peacock limited series, out Dec. 22, here’s a look back at the cast over the years.

Taye Diggs played Harper in the 1999 film — one of his earliest roles, following How Stella Got Her Groove Back. More recently, Diggs has starred on Private Practice and All American, and even hosts the reality dating show Back in the Groove.

Despite playing Harper three times over the course of 23 years, Diggs seems down for even more Best Man projects. “I’m not convinced it’s over, personally,” he told Essence. “I’m not approaching it like that. Depending on how well this does, who knows what’s going to happen.”

Robyn on The Best Man was one of Sanaa Lathan’s earliest film roles — followed, in 2000, by an NAACP Image Award-winning turn in Love & Basketball. “I think it’s so special that we're all still alive and thriving in the business,” Lathan said in an Emmys interview.

“For this group of Black actors to have had consistency and success over these last 20-something years is truly a miracle.” Lathan returns to The Best Man after appearing in Succession Season 3, and making her directorial debut with 2022’s On the Come Up.

Harold Perrineau played Murch in the original The Best Man film — and reprises his role in the new Peacock series, too. Outside of the franchise, he recently received praise for his work on the new sci-fi horror series, FROM.

“He’s such a nice man and has the best marriage I have ever seen,” Perrineau told the Emmys of Murch. “He is never toxically male, and sometimes that appears soft and unattractive. But I think people love Murch for his kindness and they don’t judge him.”

Nia Long played Jordan in The Best Man. “I guess all good things must come to an end, but I also feel like this isn’t just about these characters,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “It was a decade of culture that we contributed to and that we inspired.”

In addition to reprising her role in The Final Chapters, Long recently starred on NCIS: Los Angeles and blackAF. She will also star in Kenya Barris’ upcoming Netflix film, You People.

Candy was Regina Hall’s film debut. “My friends were like, ‘We’re coming to set!’ and ‘Is Taye Diggs and Morris Chestnut cute in person?’ I was definitely enjoying the moment, and I met a lot of great people who became lifelong friends from that movie,” Hall recalled to Bustle.

Most recently, Hall brought home an NAACP Image Award for her work on Nine Perfect Strangers — as well as an Independent Spirit Award nom for 2022’s Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul. And of course, she’s also back for The Final Chapters.

Morris Chestnut played the groom, Lance, in the original The Best Man film. He recently starred on The Enemy Within and The Resident before reprising his role in The Final Chapters — and as he told POPSUGAR, the cast is at peace with taking the final bow.

“If you have a long-running TV show where you're seeing each other every day ... it’s a little different because we [reunite], have a gap, [reunite], have a gap, so it’s been a lot of fun working with family, but I think we’re good with how it's ending,” he explained.

Melissa De Sousa first played Shelby in The Best Man in 1999, and is returning for the Peacock series. She also recently starred in Black Lightning and Our Kind of People.

In her Emmys interview, De Sousa praised director Malcolm D. Lee. “He was open to my ideas and actually implemented many of them,” she said. “That collaboration gave me the confidence to continue to do so with other projects.”

Sixteen years after playing Quentin in 1999’s The Best Man, Terrence Howard originated another iconic role — patriarch Lucious Lyon on Fox’s Empire. He returns for The Final Chapters, but told Entertainment Tonight this will be his last acting job.

“I’ve gotten to the point where now I’ve given the very best that I have as an actor,” he said. “Now I’m enjoying watching other new talent come around, and I don’t want to do an impersonation of myself.”

The one notable absence from The Best Man: The Final Chapters? Monica Calhoun as Mia, the bride-to-be from the original 1999 film. The character died of cancer in the 2013 sequel, The Best Man Holiday.

Despite not being in the new Peacock series, Calhoun came to The Best Man: The Final Chapters red carpet premiere on Dec. 7, to support her former castmates.