Vivica A. Fox Tears Up as She Reflects on Set It Off , Says She and the Cast 'Made History Together'

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Vivica A. Fox is reflecting on a project that she still holds close to her heart.

While co-hosting Entertainment Tonight on Monday, the 56-year-old actress opened up about the 1996 film Set It Off and the impact the movie has had on her.

Getting teary-eyed as she watched a clip from the set of the film, Fox said, "You're going to make me cry!"

"I love them ... like, we made history together and I think that's why I'm so emotional," she added, referring to her costars Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah and Kimberly Elise.

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D Stevens/New Line/Kobal/Shutterstock Set It Off

Set It Off follows four close friends who decide to carry out a bank robbery in order to do better for themselves, as well as their families.

The film was both a critical and box office hit, grossing over $41 million against a budget of $9 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

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"I am so proud of the director, F. Gary Gray, who over 20 years ago when we made that film, he really was a stickler for making the storyline believable," Fox said. "He was so professional, he was just ... we were throwing out pages, and rewriting it and making things work because he didn't want us to be laughed at."

She added: "People literally walked out of the theater from Set It Off in tears and moved and went back to see it again."

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During her time with ET, Fox also described the film as a "cult classic" that she is "very proud" of, before she revealed a fun tidbit that her role of Frankie was originally supposed to be played by Rosie Perez.

But Perez, 56, turned the role down, which then allowed Fox to audition for it with the help of Will Smith, who was Pinkett Smith's boyfriend at the time and Fox's costar in Independence Day.

"Will coached me for Set It Off in my trailer," she said. "He was dating Jada at the time. Guess he was trying to score some points and it worked, Will!"

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"He’s got 'that thing,' " Fox tells PEOPLE. "He has that history, and he’s been there"

In an interview with Vulture earlier this year, Fox also noted how the role in the crime film gave her "street cred."

"Before Set It Off, I was the hot chick. I was out all night, I’d modeled before, and I think people saw me a little bit bougie. Like, the uppity pretty girl. Not knowing that I grew up two streets from the projects and I was, especially back then, as ghetto as the game," she said. "So I got my street cred."

She added: People were like, “Whoa! Wow, I never knew you could get like that.”