Mara Brock Akil Shares Which Surprising A-List Actress was Originally Intended for Tracee Ellis Ross’ Role in Girlfriends

Mara Brock Akil’s hit 2000 show Girlfriends recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, and the powerhouse creator is sharing some little-known facts about how the cast came together.

During the “Mara Brock Akil: Forever Our Girlfriend” event hosted by Hollywood Confidential to celebrate her impact on television on Oct. 1, Akil was joined onstage by Golden Brooks, who played the incomparable Maya Wilkes.

While reflecting on their working relationship and subsequent friendship, the two ladies took a walk down memory lane and revisited the casting process, revealing the fact that Brooks didn’t originally audition for the role she made so popular.

“Golden came in for Toni [Childs],” Akil told the audience. “It was interesting because I knew talent was in the room. I knew. So I thought it was Toni.”

However, as Akil and her team continued to search for the other three parts, they couldn’t quite “lock in” the other actresses, which left things a bit in the air. Akil then explained that part of what made the process so tough was the fact that the original actress intended to play Joan, didn’t respond to the offer.

“Regina King was the prototype for Joan when I first wrote Joan,” she told the audience. “But Regina wasn’t returning any phone calls,” she joked.

“Even Lil’ Kim had auditioned for the show. At the time, UPN just wanted attention. They needed eyeballs so they were throwing [out names], but when Golden walked in for Toni, I was like, ‘She’s talented, hold that.'”

As they continued their search for Joan, Mara and her husband, Salim Akil, with whom she’s worked on several projects, were dining at Itacho when they saw Tracee Ellis Ross eating there as well. Salim then suggested she read for the part, and though Akil was hesitant at first, she gave it a shot.

“We brought Tracee in and when Tracee came in and read for Joan, she blew me away,” Akil revealed. “And when Tracee was set, somehow I knew Golden had to be Maya, and then it all came together.”

With Ross and Brooks as well as Persia White and Jill Marie Jones at the helm, the show would become an instant hit, airing for eight seasons before being cancelled amid the writers’ strike in 2008.

In the years since, fans have pleaded with Mara and the cast for a revisit to the story. And while she is and has always been open to the prospect of a movie, she stands firm about the fact that a project like that needs the proper funding and proper budget, one that is reflective of its position in culture.

“What I love is that we all are in agreement that we’ve got to be treated with the value that [the show] is. This show is serving four generations now across the world, and so it deserves its value. We don’t need to struggle through a celebration of a story, a film that could be done for Girlfriends,” she explains.

“I’m a believer … so if God wants us to do it, it will be done and it will be done in the right conditions and probably better than I’m even imagining because God always delivers better.”

Created by TV, producer and author of Hollywood Confidential: 12 Secrets to Becoming the Star of Your Own Life, Steve Jones, the Hollywood Confidential event series features one-on-one conversations with the most powerful voices of color in entertainment in an effort to inspire and empower the next generation of actors, writers, producers and directors of color.

Prior to Mara Brock Akil, previous guests who were honored for their cultural impact include Lupita Nyong’o, Regina King, Angela Bassett, Tabitha Brown, Issa Rae and more.