Matthew Lawrence says Gabrielle Union once “reported” him to the director on set of movie
Actor Matthew Lawrence has recalled landing in hot water with co-star Gabrielle Union on the set of the 1999 comedy film H-E Double Hockey Sticks when she reported him to the director for not rehearsing his lines.
Recalling the incident on the Magical Rewind podcast, Lawrence said that the only time he had ever gotten into a disagreement on set was during the film’s shooting when he declined Union’s request to practice together.
“There was this one moment where — and, again, I’m oblivious, I had no idea — and [Gabrielle] wanted to rehearse. And I was like, ‘No, I’m good,'” he recalled, saying that she “got angry” and “went and reported me to the director and the studio.”
Lawrence stated the entire unfolding was completely unexpected and marked the “only time in my entire career” he had encountered friction. “I’m, like, the advocate, and I’m fighting for kids and, like, you know, women’s rights,” he said. “This is the only time in my life when I was called into the office for something I did on set.”
At the time, Lawrence said he had turned down Union’s suggestion because he preferred to keep rehearsing minimal so that the official take would feel as fresh and authentic as possible. “I really loved memorising the lines, knowing all the beats,” he said, “but hated running it, cause it felt like it took all the freshness out of it.”
The actor also reflected on the ordeal and praised Union’s intuition on set, admitting that the point of the story is that she held a lot of “weight” in the industry, but he hadn’t realised it yet. The film also featured podcast co-hosts Will Friedle and Rhea Perlman, who said they had no idea about the altercation at the time.
Lawrence enjoyed several film hits throughout the 1990s, each one seemingly coming with its share of intriguing anecdotes. In past interviews, he had also recalled being asked to do disrespectful or unprofessional things for roles in films and admitted that he experienced PTSD when Harvey Weinstein was being charged.
He also supported Terry Crews after he came forward with his experiences, telling Brotherly Love: “I think our society is less ready to hear that situation going on with men than they are with women. Not a lot of guys in my opinion have come out and talked about this in the industry.”
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