Heartbreak, sisterhood and healing unfold in the new Lifetime movie He Wasn’t Man Enough.
Inspired by Toni Braxton’s hit 2000 song by the same name, the film stars Braxton, Essence Atkins, Thomas Cadrot, and Yvette Nicole Brown.
At a recent red carpet event for Lifetime’s fall romance movies in West Hollywood, California, we spoke with the cast about what it took to turn Braxton’s chart-topping single into a film.
Related: Lifetime Unwraps Star-Studded 2025 Holiday Movie Lineup
“It starts with the lyrics, then you have an iconic [music] video with Tony Braxton and Robin Givens, and then you use that as the foundation to tell a story about sisterhood, and resilience, and being fooled, falling and getting back up,” Atkins told Urban Hollywood 411.
The movie was made under a new production deal Braxton inked with Lifetime to executive produce and star in two original films. The second project, “Breath Again,” will co-star Cree Summer (A Different World and Abbott Elementary).
Braxton, who did not attend the red carpet event, leads the cast of He Wasn’t Man Enough as author Mel Montgomery.
Mel seems to have it all until she learns her boyfriend Richard (Cadrot) has been stepping out behind her back.
When she learns Richard is now engaged to her estranged college friend Monica (Atkins), the two women make a united stand with help from Mel’s best friend Candy (Brown).
Brown said her real-life husband Anthony Davis plays her partner in the film, and called working together “seamless.”
“The same way we are at home, is how we were on set,” she explained. “It was like acting with my best friend, I’m married to my best friend, I live with my best friend, so it was the same thing.”
Davis said he was inspired by his wife and the rest of the cast.
“Working with her is amazing because not only do I get to steal from her at home, I get to steal from her on set. Even with Essence and Toni, they are legends, he said.
Atkins revealed she developed a strong bond with Braxton while making the movie.
“She’s iconic and brilliant and beautiful and so talented, but she’s generous and humble and collaborative and sweet and smart,” the actress shared. “I fell in love with her, and I’m grateful to now call her a friend.”
The film was directed by Stanley Brooks from a script by Tara Knight, Aireka Muse, and Angela Nissel.
You can see Essence Atkins, Toni Braxton and the rest of the cast in He Wasn’t Man Enough, when the movie debuts Saturday, Nov. 22 at 8/7c on Lifetime.
The image above from Getty Images shows (L-R) Anthony Davis, Yvette Nicole Brown, Essence Atkins and director Stanley Brooks.
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