But the new sports romance Love and Basketball may change his fortunes. Sexy and compelling, the debut picture from writer/director Gina Prince-Blythewood mixes its sports, spats and sex in a way that should entertain both men and women.

Epps toured Atlanta a couple weeks back, talking about the movie, being black in Hollywood and getting it on, on-screen. Though he was soft-spoken, almost demure, at first, once the coversation got rolling he became increasingly animated and personable. These press tours can wear on you.

How much basketball did you have to play before shooting the movie? Are you a natural, or did you have to work on it?

Two months, two hours a day. I worked with the assistant coaches of the UCLA Bruins.

How long does five minutes of screentime basketball take to shoot?

Fifty hours (laughs). No, not like that. I mean, we really did it in like a week in a half. We tried to shoot all the basketball stuff at one time. Except that last scene at the end [with a one-on-one driveway game]. But we wanted to get all the crowd stuff out of the way, get the training while it was still good.

Was it tough taking direction from a woman, Gina Prince-Bythewood?

Nah. Art has no gender. It's just ability. She wrote a hell of a screenplay, but I didn't know what to expect [from her] as a director. I was thinking if she just goes off the paper, then it's cool. But I think she went above and beyond the call of duty. For her first time out, especially.

What do you mean by above and beyond?

As a director, putting the movie together. The script read well, like a book, but the way she told the story, by [titling segments of the movies as] quarters, putting it together, there were parts in the screenplay that went over my head reading it. The relationships, the relationship between the parents, I don't think she left you wanting to know anything. She told a full story.

How were things with you and Sanaa? Was there ever any sense of conflict over whose story was being told?

No, things were cool. We'd worked together on The Wood and we know each other. It was cool. It was fun to work with her again. It was fun to work with Dennis [Haysbert] again, because we'd worked together on Major League 2.

Was there much input from Spike Lee, as producer?

Nah. He just lent his name. Cut a check. He really was hands off. But that was surprising too. They gave Gina free reign. I think they were confident in her ability. Previously, when I've worked with first time directors, the studio guys, they sit on your shoulders like a bird, literally…

Yeah, but what was the budget for this?

I don't know. I ain't seen much of it. I think it might have been $11-13 million. Not too much.

Good way to keep people's hands off you.

Yeah.

So was making this movie different than others you've made? Because of a woman director, because of the subject matter?

Well, it was tedious. When you're working with a first time director, they're trying to find their way, their method, and that takes time. There were a lot of takes. It might get frustrating, but you've got to give [a new director] that comfort zone. It can get redundant. You know "Bang [Claps], It's there. It was in the fifth take, why are we shooting fifteen?"

What about you as an actor?

As an actor, this movie was challenging. Challenging to be innocent, to be an 18 year old again. I'm 26. I'm not too much smarter than [my character] is, but I'm older.

Is this your best role?

I don't really have a best role. To me, every role is a piece of that puzzle that will be my whole career. Every role offers something different. This role, now that I think about it, my daughter was being born right before we were doing the film. So going back to that vulnerable stage, being a new father and all, it helped me [capture that innocence].

How's this film going to do at the box office?

I don't know how it'll do. It's so far out of my control. As an actor, my only power is when they turn the camera on and call action. After that, it's all up to the director, the editor. Once they have their film, it's gotta go the studio, they've got to market it. Then, there's timing. Even if you've got a good movie like Love Jones, if there's a lot of other movies that come out around the same time, you don't do well and that's how the dice rolls. Hollywood is all about money. Whatever makes money, they're gonna duplicate. Whatever doesn't, they're gonna shovel.

Mainstream black movies are doing better though, don't you think?

Black cinema is starting to make money, but people are starting to get caught up in this mentality: "Alright, the movie cost $5 million, they spent another $5 million promoting it, let's say they spend $12 million overall. If the movie makes $25 million, $30 million, we'll consider it a hit."

Isn't it?

That's not really a hit. If you look at it the way Hollywood looks at it, an official hit, like Boyz N the Hood, it makes $68 million. That's a hit. Anything above $50 million is a hit, no matter what you spent, unless you spent $50 million. [laughs] So what we're getting caught up in is that mentality. “They only spent $8 million on The Wood. They only spent $13 million on Love and Basketball.” I'll be disappointed if our movie only makes $35-40 million. It won't be considered a hit.

It can turn a profit, but that's not enough.

We've got to start making official numbers, and then they'll take "black" off the movies. They don't call Pleasantville a white movie. But they'll call Rising Sun a black movie, even though Wesley Snipes was the only black guy in it.

What's it going to take to change that mentality?

Good movies and timing. Timing is everything. You can have a great formula, but if you don't advertise it right….So much is out of our control. Even the powers that be. They put it out, but you never know what's going to pop. Who the fuck knew Blair Witch Project was gonna make $144 million? I went to see that movie twice, I fell asleep twice. I know people, friends of mine who loved it. But Artisan, they didn't know the movie was going to do that well. Then you get something like Waterworld. You never know. Look, you can't candy-coat shit and call it candy. But if it's a good film, it's got a shot no matter what. Word of mouth, whatever, it has a shot.

What about this role made you want to take the part?

It wasn't the role so much as the script. It was a refreshing story, refreshing for a black cinema, refreshing for a sports story. It wasn't the same old clichés. No do-or-die, no "I gotta jump shot or I gotta sell crack rock." It was two black kids from a two-parent household in the suburbs, and they still had as much passion as the kid from the 'hood when all he had was basketball. And I liked the interaction between the dad and his kid. There were a lot of little nuances that really appealed to me, too.

It's also refreshing to see a movie where people aren't assaulting you with foul language. You got a PG-13 for this movie. Was that intended?

It was the way the script was written. Gina, as a writer, like all writers, puts her personality in the story. She's that way, clean cut, laid back, and the script was really like that. The story didn't call for that. These kids weren't from that kind of atmosphere, people aren't cursing every five seconds. Which was cool. So when people do curse, you feel the words more.

Do you worry about getting typecast as an athlete?

You know what? This is my official retirement from sports films. Unless they offer me five million bucks. When my agent said "We got this basketball movie…" I was like "Oh, hell no." Because The Program, I did it, I loved it, football's my favorite sport. Major League 2, David Ward, who made the first Major League and The Program, he was doing the sequel and I'd just worked with him. And then Higher Learning, that guy was running track, but it was so not about the track thing, not about the sports. But still, I was getting a little worried. Until Love and Basketball, I read it and I was just like "This is a good movie!" But I'm retiring. I can't do it anymore.

The sex in the movie is as good as the basketball footage. Harder to shoot?

Sex scenes in a movie are always the hardest. Even if you're with the person you're doing it with. I'm not an exhibitionist, and you've got like 20, 30 people around, people watching on monitors.

It's not a turn on for you.

There's a certain amount of pride I have as a man -- I mean, you gotta get it while it's good -- but I don't want to be relying on my stomach muscles for credibility. Love scenes are very hard, they're technical, it's so not about the love. You gotta look at somebody you just met and be in love.

Yeah, but it looked like there was really chemistry between you two.

Well, you can't fake chemistry. Sometimes there is natural chemisty. Which may not even be an attraction. It's a natural chemistry. Sanna and I had a natural chemistry. We've known each other about two years. That helped.

I've been reading you're working on your own scripts and want to produce.

I don't want to be at the mercy of the industry. I study cats like Denzel and Wesley. I want to follow them but do my own thing. Not for the money, not for the power, but as a businessman. I don't want to be at the mercy of the industry.

A lot has been written about the African-American in Hollywood. People say Denzel got screwed at the Oscars. Is it harder for you because you're black in Hollywood?

Everything's harder when you're black. You know, in the corporate structure. It's not so much Hollywood, it's just the fabric of our society. The way our society was built. But I think that we're getting over these things.

Did Denzel get screwed?

It pisses me off when we get mad at useless shit. Denzel in Hurricane, Kevin Spacey in American Beauty are two totally different movies. It's like rating Rakim with Lenny Kravitz. It's two different styles. Even though the awards are there for a reason, whatever, whatever. But people tend to get mad, "Oh, they snubbed him 'cause he's black!" Nah, it's just two different movies and one actor won. That's it.

You really think that?

Well, at the same time, I realize, wow, they did give Denzel an Oscar for Glory, which was a riveting performance, but he played a slave. But when he played one of the greatest leaders in world history, Malcolm X, they gave it to Pacino for Scent of a Woman. But Pacino had a hell of a performance, too. So I don't know. But when's the last time you've had two black actors up against each other for an Oscar?

Never!

Exactly. Maybe when that happens, even if neither of them wins, people will stop being so hard on that. People go straight to race, but in Hollywood, race don't have nothing to do with it. It's all about money, who's bringing in money. Nobody cared that Will Smith was black, they cared that he was in two back-to-back $150 million movies. Pay him $20 million. Look at Chris Tucker. He made $17 million after Rush Hour. That's got nothing to do with white or black. There are a lot of white actors, when their movies don't make money, you don't see them any more.

What's your movie with Takeshi Kitano going to be like? Is it going to be as hard-boiled as his Japanese movies?

Uhh … yeah. This film Brother is going to be interesting.

Interesting how?

Interesting in seeing two cultures collide. Japanese culture is very traditional. He's telling that Yakuza story, and they're very by the book.

How do you fit in the movie?

I play his brother's best friend. And he and I become brothers in a sense.

When does that come out?

Next year, I think. But that movie's going to be hot. It's going to be interesting to see how people from this country react. Internationally, he's a superstar. If he continues in his style, he's going to shock a lot of people.