How Stella Got Her Groove Back is a classic film based on Terry McMillan‘s bestselling novel, which premiered in August 1998.
The box office hit was Taye Diggs‘s breakout film, where he starred opposite the beautiful Angela Bassett. Interestingly, supermodel Tyson Beckford was almost cast as the young Jamaican man she fell in love with during her trip to Jamaica. Before Diggs became synonymous with the role of Winston Shakespeare, Beckford was in the running.
A video of Beckford discussing the potential opportunity to play the role has been recently circulating on X.
Tyson Beckford on The Rosie O’Donnell Show in 1996. I was today years old when I found out that he was supposed to play Winston in ‘How Stella Got Her Groove Back’. pic.twitter.com/S6y36wwCpo
— Coolness941 (@Coolness941) January 10, 2025
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On The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Beckford hinted at the possibility of playing Winston. “Terry McMillan has a new book, and you’re gonna be the lead sexy guy, apparently, maybe,” O’Donnell teased. “We’re gonna talk about it some more and we’ll see,” Beckford responded.
We can understand why Beckford, whose parents are of Jamaican descent, would be considered for the role. In an interview with VladTV, he revealed that he and Diggs were friends, both living in New York at the time, and both auditioned for the part.
“Me and Ty (Diggs) also went in on Stella’s Gotta Get Her Groove Back so that was very big back then,” Beckford revealed. “He got the role, and he really did it good. I was proud of him.”
Despite missing out on the role, Beckford expressed no regrets about the experience. “Sometimes when we see each other, we still talk about it—how we came up,” he said.
Despite missing out on the role, Beckford expressed no regrets about the experience. “Sometimes when we see each other, we still talk about it—how we came up and how crazy things were back then,” he said.
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On The Rosie O’Donnell Show, Beckford hinted at the possibility of playing Winston. “Terry McMillan has a new book, and you’re gonna be the lead sexy guy, apparently, maybe,” O’Donnell teased. Beckford responded with cautious optimism, “Let’s put it out there. We’re gonna talk about it some more and we’ll see.”
Photo Credit: DepositPhotos.com
