It's been nearly twenty years since his 1992 hip-hop film 'Juice' put him on the map, and while success seemed to follow his co-stars Omar Epps and slain rapper Tupac Shakur overnight, Khalil Kain's film career didn't jet off in the same direction.

With a few roles on the big screen, followed by a recurring role on the hit female series, 'Girlfriends,' Kain may now get is back in the spotlight with his latest role in Tyler Perry's 'For Colored Girls,' which Perry has adapted from Ntozake Shange's legendary stage play.

The 45-year-old New York native plays Bill, a seemingly nice guy who woos Yasmine (played by Anika Noni Rose). Underneath the appearance of a decent human being is an evil that wait to makes its presence.

Black Voices caught up with Kain as he spoke about getting back in the big leagues and hoping to stay there.

When did you get the call that you got the part and what was your reaction?

Khalil Kain: Wow. I don't remember, particularly, what day it was when I got the call but I was pretty surprised. It was a long process and I was very happy about it 'cause, last year that was probably the project to book. It was pretty exciting and I knew some of the people that had already been cast. So, it was really a very happy time.

Unlike the female cast who were picked by Tyler himself, did you audition for the movie? Did they come out and seek you for it?

KK: Oh, no. I had to audition. I remember, too, at the audition pretty much every actor I knew in town was there.

How would you describe your character Bill?

KK: Sort of a Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde. He's a pretty dark cat, you know. All of the male characters, except for Hill's (Harper), in this film are pretty heinous. The guy's definitely got issues and not the type of person you would want in your home. But looks like the kind of person you would want to bring home and introduce to mom, really.

Did you ever see any productions of the play?

KK: No, I did not. I've never seen the play. I've read it. I actually met Ntozake (Shange) a long time ago when I was a little kid. She was a friend of the family. She was pretty good friends with my father. She was good friends with my mom. My father was one of the original black poets. So, Ntozake was actually in his poetry workshop before she wrote 'Colored Girls'. So they were very, very familiar. I mean Ntozake was shocked when she found me. I saw her at a photo shoot for the film and they brought me over to meet her and I said, "You know, we've met before." And she said, "Really?" "Actually, yeah, I was a little kid when we met." And I told her and she flipped out. She was like, "Wow. That's crazy." She was so excited that I was in the film.

What do you think of the storyline since it's not originally part of the source material, but implied?

KK: Well, I think Tyler worked really hard on adapting the play. I thought the way he interwove the stories was pretty clever. And I think he got it in the end. I saw two different drafts and it always got better. And even after we're shooting he was still working. It's something that was very personal to him, as it was to all of us. I didn't see the play. I was too young at the time. My mother had me when she was seventeen, so my mother and all of her girlfriends were very excited about this. My mother is a huge fan of Ntozake and can't wait to see her at the première. She was talking about it recently and it's an integral part of history for young black folks at the time and it's still sort of reverberating now. So it's nice to be a part of it.

How was working with Anika?

KK: Anika was great. It was obviously going to be physical. We both knew going in that it was going to go from light to heavy really fast and we sat and talked. I let her know that I was gonna sort of follow her lead and she was never going to be made to feel uncomfortable, that it was a completely safe environment. And after that, once she was comfortable, we just got after it. She was really a brave young woman. It was a pleasure working with her. We didn't even stop once to rest. It was great.

How was working with Tyler? And what approach did he talk to you about regarding your intense scenes with Anika?

KK: Well, I've heard there are stories mentioned about Tyler Perry and the way he works and what type of person he was and I had never worked with him. I had never met him before the audition process. And we had a really smooth working experience. Tyler knew exactly what he wanted when I got to the set. As an actor, especially working in films, I think my job is to reinforce the director's vision. So I want to know what he wants. 'What do you want to see today?' If I can give that to him, I'm going give that to him. Tyler knew what he wanted. He was able to make that very clear to me. After that we didn't really talk much. He just let me do my thing. And he pretty much said 'yes' or 'no.' 'Yeah, that was good.' 'No', 'That's pretty good.' So, I loved working with Tyler. It was fast. He was prepared. I was prepared. So we just got right after it. Everything that he and his production company said they were going to do, they did. There was never one bump. It was a great experience working with him. I'd work with him again in a heartbeat.

While TV audiences remember you from 'Girlfriends', for a lot of filmgoers, they recall your work from 'Juice' which was nearly twenty years ago. How important do you think this body of work, including this movie, will be for your career?

KK: It will be great for my career. People really have no idea how difficult a road it can be for an actor nowadays to sustain himself. I think 'Juice' was a very seminal film in Black America, as will be 'Colored Girls'. And to be part of both of those is wonderful for me. I'm very excited about it. There was a screening in LA that I did not go to but afterwards my phone was blowing up. People were raving about the movie. And, honestly, having worked on it and having read the script, my feeling was that either people were going to love me or people were really going to be taken aback. So I'm curious to see what America is going to think of 'For Colored Girls.' I'm hoping that they're going to embrace it.

How difficult has it been for you to land parts whether it's been on TV or films?

KK: I've been fine. I've had a nice career up until now. I've taken my time. I've worked steadily. I haven't had the fortune of being in many, big budget films and things like that but, again, I've been able to sustain myself as an actor and able to do just that. That, in itself, is quite a victory. I'm proud of my body of work. I really am. The stuff that I've done is things that I can say, "Yeah, I enjoyed doing that." I've worked with great people. 'Girlfriends' was wonderful. I did six out of the eight seasons of that show. And really got an opportunity to do some wonderful work with all those folks. Things have been good. And as far as the films go, 'Renaissance Man', I got to work with Gregory Hines and Penny Marshal and Danny DeVito. 'Love Jones' was a blast. Working with Nia Long was great. It's been nice. And as far as TV goes, I've done guest spots and guest starring stuff on different shows, so it's been nice.

What do you have coming up next?

KK: I have no idea. I never know. That's a question that I'm asked every time I work. When working on 'For Colored Girls', the crew was asking that, "So what do you have lined up next." Because they're just assuming that I've got some other film or some other TV show lined up. And, no I don't. I'm out there auditioning just like everybody else.

If there's anything you wanted to do on screen or work with anybody, what would it be?

KK: I would love for Tyler to let me do my thing. Let me develop a couple things such as a couple of films, or a TV show. I just came from Atlanta. They put me on one of their television shows. I just shot an episode two weeks ago and being out at Tyler Perry's studios in Atlanta, I was like, "Man, this soundstage is just sitting there." I would love to be able to go and just stretch my legs and see what I could come up with. And to have that accessible is a wonderful thing. People need to know. Black artists need to understand that Tyler has that. There's a full-fledged film studio sitting there in Atlanta, ready to go.

Have you followed up with any of the cast from 'Girlfriends' since the show was off the air?

KK: Well, I just saw Golden (Brooks) two weeks ago. She just had a baby. She looked amazing. I've seen Tracee (Ellis Ross) and I've seen everybody recently. Everybody's fine. Tracee just got a pilot in the works. Persia's still doing her music and everybody's just doing their thing.

Why should anybody go see 'For Colored Girls'?

KK: This story is really resonant to the resiliency and strength of Black women. Like I said before, my mother had me when she was seventeen. For the most part, I lived in a single parent home. She had three children by the time she was twenty-four. She said 'For Colored Girls' spoke directly to her and let her know that she was capable of living on her own. That she wasn't the only one that had the strength and the fortitude to stand up and live for herself and for her family. This is going empower so many women. It's not just for colored girls. It's for women everywhere. It really speaks to their strength and resiliency. I think if people understand that, they'll be able to appreciate it.