Tyler Perry’s ‘Duplicity’ Stars Discuss Film’s Complex Characters

In Tyler Perry‘s Duplicity, the storyline is familiar, until it isn’t. The drama stars Kat Graham, Meagan Tandy, RonReaco Lee, and Tyler Lepley in an entangled web of dark secrets and appalling lies.

“There’s so many complexities and twists and turns and duplicitous things within this film,” detailed Graham to VIBE via Zoom. She and her costar Tandy were able to parlay the foundation of their real-life friendship into stepping into the complicated on-screen sisterhood. On set, the two women bonded while their characters slipped into complex conflicts.

The official description reads as follows:

“High-powered attorney Marley (Graham) faces her most personal case yet when she is tasked with uncovering the truth behind the shooting of her best friend Fela’s (Tandy) husband (Joshua Adeyeye). With the help of her boyfriend (Lepley) – a former cop turned private investigator – Marley’s search for what really happened leads her down a treacherous maze of deception and betrayal.”

While the women endure their friction, the men of Duplicity have their own set of problems. Each character’s lore comes with a backstory that adds chapters with each revelation.

“We for sure ride or die,” explained Lepley of the bond between the two fictional men. “I wouldn’t say that I would like to make the choices of those two as friends, but it’s always nice to have a friend that’s really going to ride for you the way Kevin and Tony did for each other.”

Lee added, “It’s good to have somebody that when you in the sh*t, they in the sh*t with you.”

For Lee, who’s been in everything from the classic sitcom Sister Sister to the steamy Netflix drama Mea Culpa, his performance in Duplicity checks off one of his acting goals.

“I had been wanting to play a police officer for many years,” explained the 48-year-old.

He continued to thank Tyler Perry for the opportunity to portray the dynamic character detailing, “I had been ready for a role like this for a long time… That’s something just the actor in me loves doing that type of stuff that you don’t necessarily think or you see coming. People that have followed my career, it’s hard I think, sometimes, for people to see me do a role that’s unlike other roles that I’ve done, but that’s just part of the actor’s journey. You always want people to keep on their toes.”

Duplicity was filmed in Atlanta, just before the dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.

“Everyone was bringing their A-game. Tyler Perry’s a dream to work with, and everyone was just really full throttle,” described Graham.

Tandy added, “Everybody did their work. They showed up ready to go, prepared. The speed, for me, it was different, but it was actually the best acting class.”

Watch the trailer for Tyler Perry’s Duplicity above and catch the film streaming on Prime Video.