EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – Watching Keegan Michael-Key and Gabrielle Union riff off each other, it’s difficult to believe the two have never worked together on a film or TV project.
The duo presented an award together at the 2016 NAACP Image Awards, and as Key recalls, that was certainly an on-camera improv exercise.
“I walked up to her, and she goes, ‘You want to do a bit?'” Key, 55, tells USA TODAY. “I’m like, ‘Oh, hell yeah.'”
“We have to do something [together],” Union, 53, adds. “We have to be like a married couple that’s dysfunctional.”
While the two wait for or develop that project, Union and Key are teaming up for a new campaign to promote Casamigos’ line of premixed margaritas. And they’re chatting summer plans, sports fandom and personal grudges while inside the tequila brand’s suite at MetLife, err rather, New York New Jersey Stadium.
Gabrielle Union, Keegan-Michael Key dish on their different summer plans
Union says she and husband Dwayne Wade will be out on “the quieter part” of Long Island this summer, the North Fork. Unlike the Hamptons, the area is known more for its food and wine scene than the celebrities who dwell in it. The couple reportedly purchased the home in 2024.
“We love it,” Union says. “My husband has become the mayor of the North Fork.”
Meanwhile, Key hopes to spend some of August at home with wife Elle after filming “Romy & Michele Get Married,” the sequel to the 1997 cult classic, for most of the summer. Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino reprise their roles for the film.
And though Key doesn’t dish on his character, he does reveal what he’ll be doing in between takes. “I can already tell you it’s going to be like an issue for me while I’m filming this movie,” he says of his soccer fandom.
Key is a huge sports fan, notably of the NFL’s Detroit Lions and Liverpool FC in the English Premiere League. But he’s all in on the World Cup, saying it’s like “Christmas” for him.
“The best part is that at least it’ll be in the time zone [I’m in] and then later in the day, I can at least go home and watch like a 30-minute version,” he says. “I’m going to try to watch the highlights for every single match.”
Both actors say that they have grown accustomed to explaining sports to other entertainers, whether it’s the storylines of the NBA Finals or what “offsides” is in soccer (Union played in college). Apparently, Key has also become a fan of cricket, which has led to its own set of questions from friends.
“I’m the only American on God’s green earth who knows what the hell is going on in cricket,” he jokes. “You’re saying actors are artsy people, so they don’t know how football or basketball works. No, I’m talking about a sport [where] nobody knows how it works. So I have to explain it to everybody.”
Do Gabrielle Union and Keegan-Michael Key hold grudges?
Casamigos, the tequila brand co-founded by a group that includes George Clooney, was acquired by global alcoholic beverage company Diageo in 2017. The brand’s summer campaign pits classic margaritas against their spicy counterparts with the slogan “Rivals at the game, Casamigos at the bar.” The idea is that even rivals can find common ground over a beverage.
Have either Union or Key been able to find that common ground with an adversary?
“I absolutely hate conflict,” Key admits. “I’m probably nice to people I shouldn’t be nice to. Especially at work, I try to keep it as low-key as possible.”
Union isn’t as low-key − no pun intended.
“My personal ones that I have initiated, those are going to come with me to the grave,” she says as Key laughs. “Because if I felt strongly enough to have some kind of beef with you, that beef is full life. That is forever.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.usatoday.com ’
