Moviegoers have gotten a taste Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett’s latest misadventures in the Bad Boys 4 trailer. As Martin Lawrence and Will Smith prepare for the fourth installment to hit theaters (as seen on the 2024 movie schedule), the co-stars looked back at past installments, which almost teamed Eddie Murphy with Lawrence. Of course, Bad Boy 2’s famous Reggie scene came up. The two friends recalled filming the standout scene, and now, I understand why it’s so perfect.
The two co-stars reminisced over the iconic Bad Boys 2 scene while being nostalgic in a Sony Pictures clip. They joked about their days on the first Bad Boys film, with Lawrence commenting on his skinny arms and Smith bringing up his too-big belt. Smith mentioned that the Reggie actor was just a regular kid before joining the blockbuster sequel. The actor’s minimal acting experience made for an interesting scene:
Will Smith: “[Dennis Greene], he wasn’t an actor. And he didn’t know, because we were ad-libbing the whole scene. So, because he wasn’t an actor, Michael Bay wanted us to like, you know, rile him up a little bit. So, we were pretending like we were mad.”
Martin Lawrence: “… We were in a confrontation, arguing with each other over something.”
Of course, the two movie veterans couldn’t pass up the opportunity to do some improv with Denis Greene (unbeknownst to him). Smith called out Greene’s untrained reaction to the duo’s faux argument, saying:
That look on his face is real. That’s real live nervousness right there. He was nervous for real.
Knowing the Reggie actor hadn’t acted before doing the whole scene from a different perspective is interesting to learn. The intimidation of Marcus’ daughter’s boyfriend was funny, scary and awkward when the Bad Boys sequel first arrived two decades ago. If you want to see the moment Smith pointed out, just watch the famous Bad Boys 2 scene below.
Seeing it 20 years later was eye-opening. It’s still just as funny and cringy as I remember. I could tell Greene wasn’t used to ad-libbing or improvising on a set. He came off as timid and unsure of himself in his first movie. He must’ve been overwhelmed trying to figure out where to jump in as these two Hollywood stars volley quips back and forth at the character’s expense. It’s one of those scenes that still strikes fear in my inner teenage boy, especially when meeting the family for the first time. However, his non-existent acting resume and Smith and Lawrence’s timing made for comedy gold.
Luckily, Dennis Greene’s lack of experience didn’t affect his Bad Boys connection. He returned for Bad Boys for Life as Marcus’s son-in-law in the hit threequel. In an unsurprising move, Greene will again join the Bad Boys cast in Bad Boys: Ride or Die. If another sequel is greenlit, I’m sure Reggie will return for another round of insults from Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
The third sequel will arrive in cinemas on June 7. Check back with CinemaBlend for more Bad Boys 4 updates.