Tisha Campbell Shares How She Nearly Missed Out on the Role of Gina in “Martin”

Campbell says Martin Lawrence promised she would play his girlfriend after they filmed ‘House Party’

NEED TO KNOW

• Tisha Campbell says Martin Lawrence promised she would play his girlfriend after they filmed House Party
• She initially planned to join an ABC series that had received a 13-episode order
• Campbell chose instead to take the role on Martin after Lawrence personally urged her to take the role, which lasted five seasons

Tisha Campbell is sharing the story behind landing the role of Gina on the 1990s sitcom Martin — and how it almost didn’t happen.

“So, what most people don’t know is that … after we did [1990 film] House Party together, me and Martin [Lawrence], he would always say stuff to me like, ‘I don’t care what it is, I just got a deal and if it’s a movie or if it’s a TV show, I want you to play my girlfriend,’” the 57-year-old recalled in a new episode of Taboo’s Comics & Kicks.

“And I was like, ‘Okay, Martin, sure,’” Campbell continued. “You know, you’re used to people promising stuff and not following up. And I was like, ‘Okay, okay.’ “

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

A few years later, the two were at the same film premiere in New York when Lawrence approached her.

“So he stops me,” she recalled. “He was like, ‘Yo, I think something’s happening.’ So, I was like, ‘Oh, okay.’ But then when I got back home, and this show —this pilot that I had done — had gotten picked up and I had gotten like 13 episodes, right, for ABC.”

She continued: “And so he calls me and was like, ‘Okay, we ready. I’m ready to do my show.’ And I was like, ‘Ah, Martin, I got to say no because my other show just got picked up and you know, yours is a pilot. It’s not picked up yet.’ ”

But Lawrence was undeterred.

“He was like, ‘Nah, nah, I’m coming over to your house. Where do you live?’ And I was like, ‘I live with my mom,’” she said with a laugh.

She continued: “And it just so happened that Tichina Arnold, my bestie since I was 11 … She was in town because she was coming out there to try to find, you know, work in Los Angeles for a pilot season. and she was auditioning for a bunch of stuff and she had just auditioned for the Martin show.”

However, at the time, Lawrence didn’t know they were friends.

“Tichina was like, ‘Don’t tell nobody. I don’t like that nepotism stuff. I want to get stuff on my own,’” Campbell explained.

So, when Lawrence arrived at Campbell’s house, he was shocked to find Arnold at her door.

“When he comes over to my house, she opens the door, and he’s like, ‘What are you doing? I’ll deal with you later. Where’s Tisha?’ So, he comes in the house. He was like, ‘I just need to talk to you. I really want you to play this role,’” she recalled. “I was like, ‘Martin, you see my situation.’ He was like, ‘Yeah, but you should, I’m telling you, drop that and be on my show.’ “

The two “went back and forth for a while,” but Campbell said that “God kept telling me, ‘You got to go with Martin.’ ”

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

While she knew accepting his proposal would mean “giving up” “a lot of money” from the other project, she trusted her instinct.

“I was like, ‘All right, Martin, I’m going to go with you.’ And so that was it,” she added.

Campbell starred as Lawrence’s level-headed girlfriend-turned-wife, Gina Waters Payne, on the show, which aired for five seasons.