Taraji P. Henson's portrayal of Cookie Lyon on Empire led her to become the first black actor to win a Critics Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 2015. A year later, she was named one of the most influential people in the world by Time Magazine. In 2017, she won a SAG Award for her portrayal of Katherine Johnson in the box office smash Hidden Figures. And yet, as she tells me over a recent breakfast at the Ritz-Carlton, she still has to convince Hollywood that she's a serious actor.
"I always feel like I’m still proving that I’m a bonafide actress, you know what I mean?" she says when we meet in March, during promotion for her new Tyler Perry film Acrimony. "Where I came from made me who I am, but I’m also a trained actress. Just because I talk like that girl who was in the hood, you can’t judge me by that. Because once you give me the script, as I’ve proven time and time again, I deliver."
There's a lot of proof to back Henson up. Hidden Figures — in which she co-starred alongside Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe — became the highest-grossing Best Picture nominee to date, making over $200 million worldwide. Hell, even her first prominent role was as Yvette in 2001's Baby Boy, which was fifth at the box office its opening week and received four out of five starsfrom Roger Ebert. But none of those results are enough to change the facts. Black women are paid 64 cents to every dollar that white men make in and out of Hollywood. Forbes' highest paid actresses of 2017 list didn't have a single black woman in the top 10. And, even in 2018, people are hating on celebrities like Tiffany Haddish or Henson for being too "loud" or "annoying" or "classless"— just for being their authentic selves.
"A lot of times I get judged for being me. But you can't do that. You can’t just assume I can’t give you Shakespeare in the Park or Chekhov or Euripides because I speak like this. I went to an HBCU [Historically Black Colleges & Universities], yes, but I was still trained," Henson says with clear passion. "I’m just gonna work until my work can’t be denied. So that, one day, when they finally get it, they’re going to wake up and be like, 'oh my god, wow, she’s been doing this right under our noses all this time.' While you were judging, I’ve been working."
Acrimony, out March 30, is some of Henson's finest work to date. In the film, she plays Melinda, a "woman scorned" whose ex-husband has betrayed her. Her grudge runs so deep that she's out for revenge — whether or not her ex-husband (Lyriq Bent) is truly deserving of magnitude of her rage. Despite the fact that Melinda goes to increasingly alarming lengths to get even for the perceived slight, Henson doesn't qualify her as a villain, and she doesn't play her like one. In the actor's hands, Melinda has depth and gravitas to be both hated and loved for who she is — not unlike Henson's most famous creation, Cookie Lyon.
Taraji P. Henson channelled 'rage' at ex for Acrimony thriller
Actress Taraji P. Henson knew exactly how to portray a woman scorned in Tyler Perry's Acrimony, because she once caught a cheating boyfriend in the act.
The Hidden Figures star plays loyal wife Melinda, who sets out to take revenge on her unfaithful husband in the new thriller, which filmmaker Tyler Perry wrote with Taraji in mind, likening the movie to 1987 classic Fatal Attraction.
"Taraji was the only person I thought that could pull this off...," the Gone Girl actor told breakfast show Today in a joint interview. "She's amazing in it."
"Mr. Perry kinda sold me," the Oscar nominee smiled. "He said, 'Trust me Taraji, it's your Glenn Close and Fatal Attraction moment,' and I'm like, 'I'm in!'."
The character of Melinda proved to be a perfect fit for Taraji, because it allowed her to channel old feelings of resentment she once had for a former lover.
"Love makes you do crazy things," she admitted. "I've been in situations where I look back and go, 'Ooh, I might have been a little off there, what was I thinking?'. It's this rage that takes over. (But) I've never busted a car window... 'cause I don't wanna go to jail!"
Instead, Taraji was able to channel that anger into her actions onscreen, quipping of the film, "It's all the things I wish I could have done, but I never acted on!"
She added of finding her man with another woman: "That hurts. That's a hard pill to swallow, when you've given up everything (for them)."
"That's why she was so good at it!," Tyler joked. "She tapped into something in playing this role. I was like, 'She ain't acting, that was real (sic)!'"
Taraji never named the ex who did her wrong, but she has since found love with former American footballer Kelvin Hayden, who she has been dating for over two years.
Taraji P. Henson Shot 'Acrimony' with Tyler Perry in Eight Days!
Taraji P. Henson hit Seth Meyers‘ couch on Late Night on Thursday evening (March 22) and talked all about how intense it was to film her latest film Acrimony in just eight days.
“He [Tyler Perry] talked me into doing this film while I was still filming Empire. Did you know it took eight days to put this film in the can?,” the 47-year-old actress told Seth.
“My co-star does the first half of the movie and then it took five days to put all, I guess 60 pages, of my work in the can,” Taraji added. “I was scared! I was like ‘Tyler, you’re crazy and if this thing doesn’t work, I’m putting all the blame on you.’ That man never seizes to amaze me.”
Taraji also reveals how she almost missed her Benjamin Button callback for a yard sale and talks about fans connecting with Cookie Lyon – Watch more after the cut!