Regina King Reflects on Working With the Late Lance Reddick in 'Shirley' (Exclusive)

Regina King's road to Tuesday's Los Angeles premiere of the John Ridley-directed Shirley Chisholm biopic has been a long one, but the Oscar-winning star proclaims it was "all for the betterment" of the film. Regina and her sister, Reina King, reflect on the trials and tribulations of the upcoming film with ET's Kevin Frazier on the red carpet of the premiere of Shirley, which will make its Netflix debut on March 22.

The film depicts the 1972 presidential run of Chisholm, who was already the first Black woman to be elected to the United States Congress and became the first Black woman to run for president. King reigns as the titular icon alongside the late Lance Reddick, Lucas Hedges, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Christina Jackson, Michael Cherrie, André Holland and Terrence Howard.

The King sisters serve as both producers for the film under their production company, Royal Ties Productions, as well as stars. Reina plays Shirley's sister, Muriel, who views Shirley's political ambitions as a direct result of their father making her believe she was special. 

Recalling the 15-year journey to getting the film made, Regina and Reina point out that Shirley had been through "different writers" and garnered assistance from producers Sonya Winton and Jonathan Kidd.

"That was all for the betterment of this final product when we came out because they kind of helped us. Sonya Winton and Jonathan Kidd kind of helped us with the research and just finding ways for us to access more information because there is not a lot of information," Regina shares of the work that went into bringing Shirley to the big screen. 

"Life life-ing" was also a factor in the film's long road to release, including the tragic death of Regina's son, Ian Alexander Jr.

Ian was the only child of Regina and her ex-husband, record producer Ian Alexander. The exes were married in 1997 and were together for a decade before divorcing. According to multiple reports, Ian died by suicide shortly after celebrating his 26th birthday in January 2022. 

Regina released a statement at the time of Ian's death, saying the family was "devastated at the deepest level by the loss of Ian." She added, "He is such a bright light who cared so deeply about the happiness of others. Our family asks for respectful consideration during this private time. Thank you."

Ian's death momentarily paused Regina's work on Shirley. She previously revealed that the decision to finish shooting the film a few months after her son's death came from wanting to respect his memory.

"I know Ian would have felt like if I didn't finish something because of a choice that he needed to make, then I wasn't honoring him," Regina said in an intimate Harper's Bazaar interview for the outlet's Possibility Issue. "We all landed at the finish line on Ian's wings. He guided us there."

The Watchman star echoes that sentiment while speaking with ET at the Netflix premiere. "We got here with him, he's a part of it," Regina says of her son. "He's right here, he's covered this whole thing."

Ian's absence wasn't the only one felt on the red carpet on Tuesday. The passing of Reddick, who portrayed Chisholm's mentor, Wesley McDonald "Mac" Holder, in the biopic, was also keenly felt.

Reddick's rep confirmed the news of his death to ET in March 2023. The Percy Jackson star died of heart disease. He was 60.

Shirley was one of Reddick's final projects. "Luckily, this was the second time I got the opportunity to work with Lance," Regina tells ET of the late star. "Lance has given us a lifetime of performances. So when I'm watching the film, you know, there's a special relationship between Mac Holder that he played in Shirley. There's a special relationship between Lance Redick and myself, and leading that experience, I got the opportunity to meet Lance's wife, Stephanie. And we've been able to kind of lean on each other and celebrate lives."

Reina adds, "He's just a good guy... He's a great man, and yeah, he should be proud."

Shirley premieres March 22 on Netflix.

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