Michael Jai White conducts an informal survey while promoting his new film, “The Secret Between Us.” Whenever he mentions the film’s premise — a man whose buried secret resurfaces with a son from a long-ago affair — he asks whether that kind of story has ever shown up in one’s family. The answer is, almost universally, yes.
“It’s been 9 out of 10 people have had a direct connection to that type of phenomenon — whether it’s themselves, or some other family member or even a parent,” he told TheGrio.
The new family drama premiered earlier this month and is currently playing in select theaters. Written and directed by Tamera Hill and executive produced by R&B icon Keith Sweat, the film stars Michael Jai White as Jack Frazier, a man of apparent integrity whose carefully constructed life begins to unravel when a son from a long-buried affair resurfaces. The ensemble also includes co-star Lisa Arrindell, television legend Victoria Rowell, Karen Abercrombie, Tre Ryan, Denzell Dandridge, Dominique Wilson, Destinee Monét and Reggie Currelley.
“It was amazing that there had never been a movie that really dealt with that. Not that that’s the only thing this movie’s about. But it was just interesting to me that there hadn’t been a movie that delved into this before.”
Arrindell, who plays Wanda, Jack’s wife, navigates the fallout in real time — a perspective that highlights the emotional weight of the film’s central conflict. While she had not experienced this firsthand, the topic felt close to home.
“I have seen this not in my immediate family, but definitely in my family. I’ve heard of it, and the shock that happens when you only find out after the person passes away,” she said.
Having to carry the weight of secrets, especially those revealed too late, is what Arrindell believes makes Hill’s storytelling so powerful.
“This story, the way that Tamera Hill has written it — to do it in real time, where the husband, Jack, and the wife, Wanda, have to deal with it in real time — is an opportunity for us as actors to reflect to humanity, to our audience, what the possibilities are through telling the truth, through forgiveness, through making room for things you didn’t think you’d ever have to make room for,” she explained.
While the film has only been in theaters for a few weeks, early audience reaction is already telling.
“I’ve been seeing in the comments a lot of people saying, ‘ Oh, you have to go see the film. Some people [are] saying, ‘this hit home.’ They’re not going into detail in the comments, but they’re saying this hit home,” Arrindell said.
What makes Jack a compelling character, both actors agree, is not just that his secret surfaces — but how he responds when it does. Rather than deny or deflect, he faces it head-on.
“Is he gonna evolve, or is he gonna run away—which he tends to do at certain times. Can’t run from your problems,” White said.
“He says, yes, I am the man. Yes, I’m the one you’re looking for. Yes, I did that. How many women, y’all, ladies, how many of us would love — I would just love if the first response was, yes, I did that,” Arrindell said.
That honesty Wanda requires from her husband prompts her to face her own buried truth. “While [she] wants her husband to tell the truth, she is, of course, challenged with the same responsibility, accountability, now that we have our daughter, now that we have an audience in our living room. You too, Wanda, have to tell the truth,” Arrindell said pointedly.
For White, Jack’s journey reflects on what modern manhood looks like today. “Manhood has to evolve in a certain way, just like everything else has. It’s no longer just punching a clock and throwing a baseball. We’re not going by the paradigm of 1979. That’s no longer the requirement. The requirement is to evolve.”
He continued, “To keep my woman secure, I have to understand empathy, sympathy. I must understand myself so I can be a vessel for security.”
Behind the film’s emotional power lies a production story remarkable in its own right. “The Secret Between Us” was shot in just 10 days — and the most challenging scene in the film, a heated confrontation between Jack, Wanda and their daughter, was also the very first scene they filmed.
“I was nervous in that. I felt challenged, like, what, we gonna do this now? We never even discussed it!” White recalled.
What got them through, both agree, was preparation. “Part of greatness is being prepared, showing up prepared,” Arrindell said. When it was over, White exhaled. “When we got through that, I was like, we’re good. We are good.”
The ensemble also features television legend Victoria Rowell, whose performance also surprised her castmates. Her character, Maxine, is the nurse who brings both wit and wisdom to the family’s drama.
“She had ideas I didn’t read on the page,” Arrindell said. White echoed the sentiment. “I didn’t know she had that in her. It was such a great addition,” he said, noting that Rowell’s character was based on a family member that she wanted to honor.
One of the most stand-out stories behind the film is how its two leads came to share the screen. Fifteen years ago, White and Arrindell crossed paths briefly at a studio. He told her he wanted to work with her one day. She assumed it was small talk. It wasn’t. During the casting for the film, another actress had already been hired, but White specifically requested Arrindell.
“I just want people to know that when God has something for you, even if it appears to belong to someone else, it’s going to come to you,” Arrindell said.
She also had a message for those who feel they’ve been passed over in their careers: “Show up, y’all, show up. To all the dreamers, show up, and show up prepared.”
At its core, “The Secret Between Us” is a film about forgiveness — not the easy kind, but the hard, cracked, imperfect version that real life demands. “Forgiveness suits the forgiver,” White said. “It’s like holding on to hot coals — it’s only gonna burn you.”
He also pointed to one of Arrindell’s lines that stuck with him long after filming. “One of her lines is, ‘I’ve already forgiven you, but it doesn’t mean that I’m not mad.’ That’s that evolution I’m talking about.”
Arrindell approached the topic with an even more powerful perspective. “The thing that’s broken is being put back together again, but there are cracks there. And we are still able to live and be well with the cracks.”
“We name the things that threatened to destroy us, and we name them, and they don’t destroy us,” she added.
For Hill, she wanted to create a film many people could relate to, particularly in its exploration of secrets and forgiveness. “In ‘The Secret Between Us,’ we wanted to tell an intimate, character-driven story about the cost of secrets and the courage it takes to seek forgiveness,” she said in a news release.
For those who have yet to see the movie, both actors shared some advice. “I warn people, bring your Kleenex,” White said. “If you get through this without a dry eye, you’re one of very few.”
Even Sweat, who has watched the film five times, still becomes emotional when he sees it. “And that’s Mr. Tough Old Keith Sweat,” White laughed.
“He said, bring your friends, bring your family, bring your enemies, bring everybody, just come and see it,” Arrindell said of Sweat’s rallying cry to viewers.
From dark secrets and betrayal to forgiveness and healing, “The Secret Between Us” shows how a Black family can successfully move past the trials and tribulations that arise to become stronger together.
