Sanaa Lathan has stepped into a new lane: audiobooks.
On Feb. 22, the actress made her audiobook debut in a dramatic, 8-part audio thriller titled The Justice, by Emmy-award-winning writer James Patterson when it hit Audible’s platform. She plays Beth Garner, the newest associate justice of the Supreme Court, which was a dream of hers in her conquest to make fair judgment calls that positively impact the nation in Audible Original. Due to an abyss of secrets in her mentor’s, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Clayton Erlenborn, past that she’s unaware of, Garner becomes engulfed in a series of wild encounters that force her to make critical decisions that not are detrimental to not only her livelihood but others as well.
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In a recent interview with Blavity’s Shadow and Act, Lathan opened up about why she chose to join the cast for Patterson’s new suspense story, how she prepared for the role and what’s next.
The Love & Basketball star isn’t new to doing voiceovers as she’s done work for the movie The Golden Glaze (2005) and TV shows The Cleveland Show (2009-2013), and Family Guy (2010-2023) and DC’s Harley Quinn as Catwoman. Not only was she interested in the script after reading it, she was also intrigued to work with Patterson.
“I was a fan of James Patterson. He’s an icon in this mystery thriller genre,” Lathan told us. “Every time you go to the airport and see a bookstore, he’s on the bestsellers page. He’s a real page-turner type of author. And it’s a fabulous role, so I jumped at the chance.”
She added, “I just love the process of voice acting. It’s a different process than being on a set. You’re kind of in a booth by yourself. You can roll up in your baseball cap and, and sweats, no makeup, and you just do your thing in front of a mic with a director and there’s something very intimate about it and fun for me.”
When discussing Beth Garner, who she was cast to portray, the 52-year-old revealed she liked the growth of the persona because she starts in the weeds of disbelief but quickly pivots to find solutions all while not losing integrity.
“We kind of know what’s that the government is not morally pure. We know that, but it’s nice to have somebody go into it with that kind of pure moral compass, and she has to learn really quickly,” she said. “I mean, that’s what we want, right? We would want the people in those positions to not be subject to bribes or any kind of underhanded thing. You want the Supreme Court justices to be just in the highest sense of the word. And so I love that she’s so pure and I do think she is a bit naive at first, but she definitely goes on a journey.”
Audiobooks give listeners the unique experience of having everything, but the visuals as they are instantly immersed in the story, which is similar to what the Emmy nominee experienced when she first reads a script and again as she prepares for recording day.
“Same thing happens as you’re reading it, our imaginations are so powerful and that’s what makes you listen,” Lathan said. “I’ve heard that when you’re listening to a story, it works a different part of your brain and it’s actually exercising a different part of your brain. So, I think adding audibles on tape is a good thing.”
She continued, “You could be driving, you can be cleaning your house, you can be on the treadmill, you know what I mean? It’s not like you have to sit down and hold the book.”
As for what’s next for The Best Man actress, it was recently announced that she will be executive producing and starring in Miss Cleo, which is about the world-renowned physic. She also teased her upcoming role in the highly-anticipated film, The Supremes at Earl’s All You Can Eat.
“It’s based on a book from the ’90s called The Supremes at Earl’s All You Can Eat,” she said. “It stars me, Aunjanue Ellis and Uzo Aduba, and it’s about three best friends and how they kind of grow up together and are each other’s family, chosen family, through life and we all kind of can identify with that. Really excited about that one. We don’t have a release date yet, but it will be out this year.”
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After Lathan’s 2022 directorial debut for her movie On The Come Up, she has a newfound passion for directing and hopes to do more films. Although she’s happy to diversify her career, her love for acting will always remain the same so she won’t be slowing down any time soon.
“I loved directing On The Come Up. I want to do that again. I want to do both [acting and directing]. I definitely wanna direct, but I definitely wanna be in front of the camera,” she said. “I love both after so many years of doing it. It’s natural to expand and now I’ve fallen in love with both mediums, both sides, and they’re extensions of each other.”
In addition, the multihyphenate is open to doing more audible books and possibly being the lead in a movie if an adaptation is made for The Justice since it was a fun experience.
“Definitely more Audible,” Lathan said. “I mean, I’m sending that message out to Audible right now. Maybe I’ll do the live-action film of The Justice.”
To listen to The Justice, head on over to Audible’s website.
