This month, the Michael Jackson biopic “Michael” will hit theatres worldwide. And for Nia Long, the actress who has long reigned over Black cinema—from “Love Jones” to “Boyz n the Hood”—this could be her biggest (and most contested) film yet.

While portraying the matriarch Katherine Jackson, she realized, “The work comes through me, not to me.” In the Playboy Interview, the actress opens up to Jamilah Lemieux about her career, her dating life, and why she swears she’s not as exciting as the rap songs say she is. (We beg to disagree.)