Her Source Exclusive: Tia Mowry Talks Playing Trey Songz Crazy Girlfriend and more!

The Source Magazine recently sat down with Tia Mowry to discuss her hilarious role in Dave E. Talbert’s romantic comedy “Baggage Claim.” The Fox Searchlight film comes out September 27. 

You can check out a sneak peak of Tia in action in the film’s trailer here:

Q: Congratulations on the film. How’d you get involved?

Mowry: Well, I auditioned for the film and after the audition the director gave me an option to, I guess, see which role I wanted to play. It was between, I think, Christina Milian’s role or the role that I decided to play and I said, ‘Oh no no no.’ I want to go to a place where people are not used to seeing me and I said ‘I want to push myself. I want to do something different. Let’s choose Janine,’ who’s the only deranged, crazy, woman in whole entire movie.

Q: Everyone was cracking up at the screening! 

Mowry: Really?! [Laughs] Yes! Yes!

Q: It was really funny. What did you love about the script in general?

Mowry: What I loved about the script in general was it didn’t play on any stereotypes. I think that, I’m a woman and every woman desires to see a great romantic comedy, but there aren’t many romantic comedies out there that women like myself can relate to and I do feel like this movie is extremely relatable to me and my culture without playing into crazy stereotypes. It’s classy, funny, charismatic, beautifully shot, amazingly written film. So I’m happy to be a part of it.

Q: What was it like working with the director, Mr. Talbert?

Mowry: He was, I will have to say, one of my favorite directors I’ve worked with so far. He is an actor’s director, it’s not just all about shots; it’s about really understanding the character that his actors are playing and then really helping build upon that character. Also, I liked working with him because he trusts his actors and he just lets them bring whatever they have to the table and then he will add on that and I think it was extremely beneficial to the film.

Q: What was it like working with Mr. Trey Songz?

Mowry: You know, I’m gonna be honest. I had a little crush on Trey Songz probably about maybe four years ago. I absolutely loved him. I was head over heels for him. But, you know, I’m married now and I have a son, so a lot of that has subsided. But when I got the opportunity to play his girlfriend I said, ‘Oh my God, I don’t think I would’ve been able to do this four or five years ago.’ I would’ve been shaking in my bones. But, you know, he was great. He’s perfect for the part and I had a great time working with him, he was fun.

Q: What’s your favorite Trey Songz song?

Mowry: I’m going to say ‘Love Faces.’ Yeah, I love ‘Love Faces’…”Massage”… I have a lot of favorite Trey Songz songs.

Q: And speak about working with Paula Patton in that funny sequence.

Mowry: Paula is incredible. She is not only beautiful on the outside, but beautiful on the inside and she’s very serious about her craft, about her work. So, you know, to be working with her and to see her in action was just a lot of fun and she’s so welcoming and warm, you know, you’re walking in on a set that’s been filming for several weeks and you’re just coming in – it can be intimidating at times. But when everybody’s cool and she’s cool there’s no egos and everybody just has one goal in mind, which is to make this film a great film, everything else just goes out the window and you just have a lot of fun.

Q: Was it fun to let loose and play the cray-cray in the film?

Mowry: Oh yes it was! Everybody’s scared of me now; I’m like, ‘Oh my God I guess I did the role justice.’ I love playing parts that I’m really not, so of course there’s a little bit of me in there and I think if an actor is saying there’s nothing of themselves in the characters that they’ve played I don’t think they’re being honest, but I just, you know, took it to a whole other level and I had no inhibitions and I just went with it. David was like, ‘Tia, you need to go crazy,’ and I was like, ‘Okay! Let’s do this,’ and that’s what I did.

Q: This film is all about romance, can you share a fun, romantic thing your husband has done for you?

Mowry: Oh that’s a really, really good question. I think a romantic thing that my husband has done would have to be when we were dating it was all about gifts and roses and bracelets. But it’s not about that anymore. Now that I’m a mom, I think the biggest gift that my husband can give me is being considerate. And with that said, if I’ve been working a really, really long day at work and he says, ‘You know what Tia? You go rest. You go take a nap. I’m gonna take care of Cree. I will give him a bath and put him to bed,’ to me that’s the most romantic thing my husband can do for me.

Q: “Baggage Claim” is also about travel; do you have a favorite place to travel? 

Mowry: My favorite place to travel would have to be to London. I think it’s because of the plane ride. Virgin Atlantic is incredible. You have lights, it’s like a disco, it’s like a club in the air. You have cookies and ice cream and televisions and wine and bars and it’s sexy, the flight attendants are fun. The experience itself is one of the main reasons why I like flying to London.

Q: Do you have a fun fan airport encounter you can share?

Mowry: We were in Rome and we were at baggage claim…he’s very, very handsome…Sean Connery! Sean freakin’ Connery! I met him at baggage claim in Rome and I was a fanatic!

Q: Oh, so you were the fan?

Mowry: I was the fan!

Q: What did you do?

Mowry: Screamed. And said, ‘Oh my God Sean I love you!’ and then afterwards, ‘Oh my God, I feel like an idiot.’

Q: And what’d he say?

Mowry: He was just very kind and gentle like, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’…Soft-spoken, just very, very sweet. And very handsome.

Q: We’re The Source, we’re all about music. Who are your favorite Hip-Hop artists of the moment? 

Mowry: You know, I am in love with J. Cole. I love J. Cole, I think he’s great and it’s not just because he mentioned my sister and I in his song. I’ve absolutely loved J. Cole even before that. I love Drake. Drake is unbelievable. I love him. He’s so sweet, too. But I can take it back, I love Common, I love Nas. I love Lil Wayne.

Q: And also you have your fabulous show, “Tia & Tamera” on the Style Network. Can you share what fans can expect moving forward?

Mowry: One thing that I’m really excited about is people seeing my sister and I’s endeavors and our journey with being entrepreneurs. Finally, this is something I’ve always wanted to do, and finally my sister and I we’ve been able to create a brand for ourselves, which is NeedBrands.com and it’s a company that focuses on products that help mothers throughout their pregnancy experience and we have products for toddlers coming out and babies. But right now we’re focusing on moms during postpartum pregnancy and during pregnancy and we’re having a lots of fun doing it.

Q: And can you tell me about the decision to open up your home and your lives to reality TV and what that experience has been like?

Mowry: It’s been bitter-sweet to be honest with you. It’s been sweet because I can now say that I have footage of me being pregnant, I have footage of my son being a baby, so I can go back and reminisce about those moments and pivotal moments of my life. But then also you’re opened up for judgment and scrutiny and people are not criticizing or critiquing a particular role or character. They’re critiquing who you are as a person and I think that hurts more. So that’s been a little difficult.

Q: And also you have this new show on Nickelodeon, “Instant Mom.” Can you tell me about that?

Mowry: Oh my gosh I’m having so much fun on this show. It’s going to be airing this Fall, we have a Fall launch on Nick at Nite. We’re really really excited about this. I’m producing it as well. It is a show about a blended family, which I feel is extremely relatable right now. I play a step-mom and I’m trading Cosmos for carpools and I’m just trying to be the best mom I can to these step-children but it’s difficult. She’s like a fish-out-of-water and she’s learning the ropes and that’s where the conflict comes in. But it’s a fun show that the whole entire family can sit down and watch and I think it’s going back to “The Cosby” days when the whole family, in particular, families of color and seeing a show that has diversity to it, but that everyone can relate to. It’s not a show that’s just specifically for African Americans. It reminds me of “Cosby” and “Sister, Sister.” So I’m very happy to be a part of this journey.

Q: And can you talk about motherhood these days?

Mowry: I don’t know what life would be like without my son. I forgot what life was like before my son. He is what drives me to be a better person, to do what I do. And pure joy, that’s what being a mother is. Pure freaking joy. So pure.

Q: Anything final thoughts? Any upcoming projects you would like to share?

Mowry: I just sold a show to Nickelodeon. It’s a show that’s loosely based about my life. It’s going to be about a 12-year-old girl whose mom is a drill sergeant and that’s basically what my life was like. So I just sold that. And then I’m going to be doing “Instant Mom” and then “Tia and Tamara”…and then our brand. We’re going to have six products in Destination Maternity by January.