By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — Regina Hall has amassed lots of credit as both a successful comedic performer and a solid dramatic one. Now she’s enjoying another role: co-host. She’ll be joining Wanda Sykes and Amy Schumer Sunday night when the trio make history as the first all-women group to host the Oscars.
It’s been a steady rise for Hall, a Washington D.C. native. She made her screen debut playing an exotic dancer in1999’s “The Best Man.” Next came a role in 2000’s “Scary Movie.” Hall’s comedic profile continued growing as she was in the casts of such films as “Malibu’s Most Wanted,” (2003), “First Sunday,” (2008), “Think Like a Man,” (2012) and “Girls Trip” (2017).
But she’s also displayed great dramatic range in several films. One was “Support The Girls.” Another was “The Hate U Give,” both of them in 2018. Hall got excellent reviews for her performance in the 2021 ensemble drama “Nine Perfect Strangers” that featured Nicole Kidman in a stirring lead role.
Her latest endeavor is the horror thriller “Master,” which is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Hall has previously been critical of what she felt was a tendency to assume she could only do comedies, so she’s taken on both more dramatic roles and also unorthodox characters like the one in the master. Hall plays the newly appointed “master” of a residence hall at an elite New England university who helps to uncover the institution’s dark and troubled past.
She recently told variety that she greatly enjoys playing different and unusual characters. “Every role has its own unique thing. I don’t know that I necessarily see comedy [or] drama, they’re not so different to me,” Hall said.“The interpretation of the material is different … but it’s not as different as its perceived.”
Regina Hall co-hosts the 94th Academy Awards with Wanda Sykes and Amy Schumer Sunday on WKRN-2 at 7 p.m. “The Master” is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
