Gabrielle Union Is A Much Different Mom Than ‘Cheaper By The Dozen’ Character

Gabrielle Union’s got her hands full in the new “Cheaper By The Dozen” film.

In the Disney reimagining the 49-year-old plays Zoey Baker, the mother to 10 children, who alongside her husband (played by Zach Braff) try to navigate their hectic home life.

Union, who is also an executive producer told HipHollywood the original 1950 film was on repeat in her home as a kid, but it was writer Kenya Barris’ script and diverse blended family that made her say yes to the role.

“My sister’s favorite movie of all time is the original 1950 Cheaper By The Dozen, so I literally seen it a thousand times, I can say it verbatim,” she revealed.

“But the thing that we always commented on growing up was like, I wonder what it would be like if they were black and then I get the script from Kenya [Barris] and I was like, close, they’re not all black, but enough.”

Union also shared if her real-life role as wife to husband Dwyane Wade and mother to three-year old daughter Kaavia, as well as step-mother to Wade’s four children from previous relationships helped shape her on-screen character.

“It’s interesting because I think the way we write mothers, they generally aren’t the kind of mother I am in real life,” she explained. “If I go up to the school, it’s not gonna look like Zoey Baker, if I have a run-in with a security guard, that man is knocked on his ass, it’s not gonna be the same. So it is a challenge for me playing the kinds of deified moms that tend to be in family-friendly movies, so that was a challenge.”

“Zoey Baker has to show a lot more restraint than me, you know,” she added. “Perhaps in the sequel you’ll meet some of those relatives who inspire her to roll with a bit more of an iron fist and to jump down from the high road to maybe at least the medium.”

Cheaper by the Dozen is streaming March 18 on Disney+.