12 Favorite Sanaa Lathan Roles, Ranked.
Sanaa Lathan is rather versatile in her movie choices.
She does romance, dramas, thrillers, and horrors. She’s not afraid to play the bad person nor is she afraid to go against extraterrestrial. She’s pretty badass and so are her movie choices. And when she commits to her role, she really gives us her all. Through her acting, you will either love or hate her character, which also makes that role a popular one even if the movie itself isn’t a fan favorite.
Check out our 12 favorite Sanaa Lathan roles, ranked from least favorite to most favorite.
12. Family Guy/The Cleveland Show
Character: Donna Tubbs-Brown
She’s animated and she’s funny, which is why Donna is one of our favorite Sanaa Lathan roles.
11. A Raisin in the Sun
Character: Beneatha Younger
Lathan’s TV adaptation of the Broadway play A Raising in the Sun is full of an all-star cast who transform into their roles beautifully. Lathan played a really well version of Beneatha. The movie and characters are just overall great.
10. American Assassin
Character: Deputy Director Irene Kennedy
She was a no-nonsense boss who could handle her own. You believed her and subtly feared her. We loved her in this although the film itself wasn’t that great.
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9. Alien vs. Predator
Character: Alexa “Lex” Woods
As the movie’s lead, she holds her own in this thriller. You don’t have to be a franchise lover of either Alien or Predator to love Lathan in this role.
8. The Best Man/Best Man Holiday
Character: Robyn
We put both films because she was only in the beginning and end but when you combine both films, you love what she brings. She’s nice but not a pushover and forgiving but doesn’t forget at all. You have to love Robyn even if you can’t stand Harper.
7. Disappearing Acts
Character: Zora Banks
Disappearing Acts is a complex love story but the chemistry between Lathan and Wesley Snipes is easy to see.
6. Brown Sugar
Character: Sidney “Sid” Shaw
The movie itself is a great film that tells the story of love and the love of hiphop, Lathan and her co-star Taye Diggs didn’t oversell the message but made us feel as complex as their relationship was.
5. Shots Fired
Character: Ashe Akino
Lathan played the hell out of Ashe in this limited series. The controversial series received mixed reviews but one thing we can all agree on is how fierce of a character Ashe was and that was thanks to how well Lathan portrayed her.
4. Out of Time
Character: Ann Merai Harrison
Its the twist for me that makes this movie and this one of my favorite Sanaa Lathan characters. Ann portrays this a damsel in distress within her marriage and healthwise but the further the movie goes, the more we realize Ann’s true character. Masterfully acted.
3. Love & Basketball
Character: Monica Wright
This was her first major role and for a rookie, she killed it. The way she expressed herself through her shy demeanor was perfectly portrayed.
2. Nappily Ever After
Character: Violet Jones
This falls at number 2 of Sanaa Lathan roles because of how she took you on the emotional personal journey and she inspired you to live your life and find yourself. As she went through her breakthrough, you truly felt that. This film did what Something New, her previous film tried to do but just couldn’t move us the same way.
1. The Family That Preys
Character: Andrea Pratt-Bennett
The Family that Preys may not be the best movie she’s starred in but I’ll be damned if someone says this isn’t her best role, ever. The way she made you truly hate her, unmatched.