The O’Jays weren’t supposed to be in “The Fighting Temptations,” the new Cuba Gooding Jr.-Beyonce Knowles movie. The roles that were eventually snagged by the legendary R&B trio were meant for Eddie Levert Sr.’s famous offspring, R&B teddy bear Gerald Levert. But when the younger Levert’s schedule proved unyielding, he suggested that his father and his singing partners Walter Williams Sr. and Eric Grant be given a shot.

“They told us we had to come in and do a screen test,” Levert Sr. said at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Though Levert and Williams have been performing for 40-plus years (Grant joined in 1997) and acting for less than one, Levert said the audition wasn’t nearly as nerve-racking as his day job, because he’s been turned down before.

“They had us try a part for a West Indian, but if you see the movie, you’ll notice you never see us do a West Indian accent, so that obviously didn’t work out,” Levert said.

“We tried it but we sounded like Cubans, Italians and everything else but West Indian.”

Adroitly, the producers decided the O’Jays shouldn’t feign foreign accents.

They play a trio of local barbers in the film’s rural Georgia setting. In their first appearance (which also happens to be Williams and Grant’s favorite moment in the film), they serenade the son of Knowles’ character with a rendition of Paul Simon’s gospel inflected “Love Me Like a Rock,” highlighting their tight, soulful harmony accompanied only by the percussive sounds of scissors and other assorted barbershop tools.

They spent many hours in sessions throughout the shooting, learning their lines and doing multiple takes of their scenes. “I had no problem with most of them, but the ones that I really concentrated on ended up on the (cutting room) floor,” Williams said.

The O’Jays are featured in several scenes with the movie’s fictitious ragtag choir, doing what they do best, singing alongside Angie Stone, Knowles, Montell Jordan and Melba Moore. All are present on “The Fighting Temptations” soundtrack.

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(c) 2003, Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio).

Visit Akron Beacon Journal Online at http://www.ohio.com/.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

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PHOTOS (from KRT Photo Service, 202-383-6099):

ENTER TEMPTATIONS

AP-NY-09-22-03 1316EDT