By Christina Radish
Moving to Hollywood with a young son and $700 in her pocket, Washington, D.C. native Taraji P. Henson seemingly had the deck stacked against her. But, after a few years of struggle, her perseverance paid off, beginning with a role in John Singleton’s Baby Boy, and then a breakout performance opposite Terrence Howard in the acclaimed Hustle & Flow, which later led to her voicing her share of the single, “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp,” at the Academy Awards, before it took home the award for Best Song.
After roles in Four Brothers, Something New, Talk to Me and Smokin’ Aces, Henson has turned her attention to the small screen, as a recent addition to the cast of the hit ABC television series Boston Legal, created by David E. Kelley. The focused, dedicated actress spoke with MediaBlvd Magazine about what drew her to the show, as well as her role in the upcoming David Fincher drama The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (scheduled for release at the end of 2008).
MediaBlvd Magazine> What made you want to get into acting?
Taraji P. Henson> I’ve always been an extrovert. I was always a personality. I was always the friend to have. I was the cool one that got along with everybody and just made everybody laugh. In high school, before I even really got serious about acting, I had a group of friends that called me “Hollywood,” and I was 15. I had no idea about acting then, but I guess it was always in the stars. I got serious about it in college, when I went to Howard University, because I started seeing alumni in movies. I thought, “Wow, I could make a living off of this.” That’s when I got serious.
MediaBlvd> Was there a specific moment when you thought, “I can do this. This is what I want to do with my life”?
Taraji> We have an award ceremony at Howard, called the Weenies, named after Owen Dodson, that was our Oscars. Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad both have a scholarship, under the name of their father, Andrew Allen, that’s called the Andrew Allen Triple Threat Scholarship, and I won that. I couldn’t be there to accept the award because that was the year I had my son. I had just had him, so my mother had to go and accept the award. When I watched the tape, I was like, “Wow, I’ve touched people enough to make them want to give me an award.” I graduated the next year, and I was L.A. bound -- me and my son, and $700.
MediaBlvd> When you made the move to L.A. to see if you could succeed in Hollywood, had you set any goals or limits for yourself, as far as how long you would give it?
Taraji> I didn’t really think about it like that. I just knew that I was going to succeed. I can’t explain it. I didn’t have a map. I didn’t really sit down and say, “Okay, this is the plan.” I just had a feeling that, once I got to L.A., I was going to be okay. First, I knew that I had to find somewhere to live, get a job and be able to maintain. I put myself through college, working two jobs, so I knew how to work and pay rent. Once I got a steady job, I knew I’d be fine. I came out here with half of a leg up because I did have a small town manager in Maryland, and she called this small time boutique agency, and they sent me out for an audition for a sitcom. I got all the way to a studio test, but I didn’t get the job. And then, after that, they wouldn’t send me out. I would have thought that they would have said, “Oh, wow, this girl has something. We better send her out on everything that comes through here.” But, they did nothing. I was just working off of instinct because I knew that they didn’t know the jewel they had, so I let them go. It wasn’t a place of desperation for me. It was a place of, “I just have to meet the right person. I just have to get the right management and the right agent, and once that works out, I’ll be fine.” I had talent. I just had to get the business aspect down. During freshman year at Howard, my professor said, “It’s not show business, it’s business show.” I’ve just always listened to my instincts. Instincts never lie.
MediaBlvd> With as tough a town as Hollywood can be, did you meet anyone along the way who encouraged you or gave you advice, that still means something to you now?
Taraji> That would be a combination of so many things and people, even people that I hadn’t met because they had careers that I followed. Halle Berry and I share the same manager, and that’s who I’ve been with for my entire career. It’s been a combination of meeting the right people at the right place, at the right time. My father would always say to me, “Everybody has a season,” and I knew I had a season.
MediaBlvd> At any time, had you ever thought about giving up a career in acting to pursue a career as a singer?
Taraji> I studied musical theater when I was at Howard. My major was drama. And then, I did my first musical, which was Dreamgirls, and I fell in love with musicals and knew I had to do that. But then, the problem for me was music theory. I couldn’t get it. My brain is not wired like that. It’s so much like math. I’m an artist. I don’t think like that. There was too many logistics. So, I switched back to drama. But, I did take musical theater for a couple of years, and was in quite a few musicals there. Singing was never my first passion. Acting is my first passion.
MediaBlvd> How crazy was it that Hustle & Flow got so much attention that it resulted in you singing at the Academy Awards?
Taraji> I never saw that coming. I was like, “They’re not going to sing about a pimp at the Oscars!” I guess it clicked for me, when we were in Utah at the Sundance Film Festival. I was like, “What have we done?” I looked around the room and saw conservative white America, in Utah, pumping their fists, singing “Whoop that Trick.” I was like, “What!? What have we embarked upon? What is about to happen?” That’s when I knew. It was a beautiful thing to see the conscious of America being lifted to another level. Human stories can affect everybody. It doesn’t have a color. That film was pure passion. John Singleton put up his own money. Nobody was there to collect a check. Everybody was there because they wanted to be there, and they believed in it. Everybody involved believed in it, from the grips to the D.P. Even the townspeople came together. That was the most beautiful experience of my career.
MediaBlvd> With all that struggle to get the film made, how rewarding was it to get so much acclaim for it?
Taraji> It was just crazy. I said to the fellas in the audience, at the Oscars, “So, you know that they owe this award to Dolly Parton, right? Just be happy that we’ve come this far. Yey for the team! They owe Dolly Parton, so they have to give her this.” And, when they said, “Three 6 Mafia,” that was raw emotion you saw, up on that stage, because nobody expected that. They didn’t even know what to say.
MediaBlvd> How did you come to be a part of Boston Legal? Had you auditioned, or did they make you an offer to be on the show?
Taraji> I was so excited because they made an offer. Apparently, the producers had been trying to get me since Hustle & Flow. I remember meeting with Mike Listo and Bill D’Elia, shortly after the film came out. They’d seen it, and there was some talk about me joining the cast then, but the timing was off. I was doing something else. And, finally, it worked out. They came back this time and I was available, and the timing was perfect. I had two movies in the can, and it was a great time to be on TV. It’s not so great now that the strike is on, but at least I have money saved.
MediaBlvd> Had you been a fan of the show prior to being cast, or did you have to catch up on previous episodes before you started filming?
Taraji> I was a David E. Kelley fan. I’m not a huge television watcher. I have a 13-year-old son with growing pains, so I really don’t get to watch TV. But, I did buy the first two seasons of the show on DVD and that’s all I watched, every day, all day. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. I just fell in love with it, immediately. With the likes of Candice Bergen, William Shatner, John Larroquette and James Spader, I didn’t care what it was. I couldn’t turn that down, just so that I could learn. I’m like a sponge on that set. I love it. It’s incredible.
MediaBlvd> What was it like when you started working on the show? Was it at all what you expected it to be like, or was it entirely different from what you thought it would be?
Taraji> I really didn’t put anything on it. I was just going to be available to experience whatever it was. I was intimidated. I was nervous, out of my mind. The industry likes to typecast you and not believe that you can do other things. I’ve been told so many times, “Oh, she’s too edgy. She’s too street.” I’m a trained actress. I’m not portraying Taraji. Just because I speak a certain way when I feel comfortable and I’m around my friends, or whatever, that doesn’t mean that I won’t be able to flip it and play Desdemona, if I have to. But, they don’t think like that. So, for the producers to finally see me as an actress, I actually thanked them for seeing me for my talent, and they said, “That’s all we hire on this show. We want actors.” That was just rewarding.
MediaBlvd> How much of your character had been developed when you came in, and how much of it did you develop with David Kelley?
Taraji> I love to be challenged. I don’t ever want to get comfortable because then I feel like I’m not growing. The challenge for me, in television, is that the character grows as the scripts are written. You’ve got to be open to where David Kelley is going to take his characters. They develop as they go. All I had, in the beginning, was her name -- Whitney Rome. Rome is such a powerful last name. And then, I happened to see Betty Paige’s story and I was like, “Wow, that’s a hatchet woman.” Whitney Rome was John Larroquette’s hatchet woman at the New York firm. In my first episode, she followed him to Boston and demanded her job. She walked in there and said, “Hey, Carl, I’m working here now. Where’s my office? I need an office and an assistant. Come on, let’s go.” And, that’s how she got the job. So, when I saw Betty Paige, I realized that she was a hatchet woman of her time, and the bangs just worked. It clicked, and the show loved it. It was so much fun.
MediaBlvd> What’s been the most difficult thing about working on the show, and what’s been the most fun?
Taraji> The most fun is the writing. The writing is rich, and it’s meat. Even if you’re in one scene, there’s so much going on. And, everybody is so supportive. When I first showed up to the set, I just wanted to squeeze William Shatner. He’s like a big old teddy bear. We were walking, and I was all starstruck with my knees knocking, and I said, “Hi, Mr. Shatner,” and he said, “We need you.” I was like, “Wait a minute, you don’t need me. You’ve been nominated for six Emmys without me. I think you’re doing just fine.” But, how sweet. What a way to welcome someone. He’s such a class act. And, James Spader gives the best advice. I had to do my first summation, and I was nervous, out of my mind. James Spader does these 6-page summations that are incredible soliloquies. He’s amazing. I love just getting to sit there and watch that. They’re so nurturing on the show. Before they wrote me a summation scene for me, they had me second chair one of James Spader’s cases, so I got to watch him, and he just gave me some of the best advice. And, to watch William Shatner work is amazing, too. It’s a great show, it’s a great cast, and it’s a great job. It’s brilliant.
MediaBlvd> Will viewers get to see more of your character in upcoming episodes?
Taraji> We’ve only gotten up to episode 14 because of the strike, but you’ll definitely see more of me. It’s David Kelley, so I’m just hoping. He pushes the envelope, he makes you think, he gets up under your skin. He does things that TV isn’t doing for me, otherwise. And, he makes you laugh. He makes you laugh at yourself. He’s incredible.
MediaBlvd> Do you enjoy playing such strong, sassy and independent women?
Taraji> I like to play an array of characters. In Hustle & Flow, Shug wasn’t sassy. Shug was a scared flea. She was not an extrovert. I just like roles that I can sink my teeth into. I like to play multi-dimensional characters. Even if a character is written shallow, I’m going to find some other dimensions. They’re in there somewhere.
MediaBlvd> With all of the early struggles you went through, as an actress, did you ever imagine that you’d still have a successful career, so many years later, or did you just always have enough confidence in your talent to know that this was what you were going to do?
Taraji> I always knew that I was going to be successful. I didn’t know how, but I just knew that I was here to stay, and that I had a voice. And, I knew that people needed to hear my voice. I just wouldn’t be deterred. I won’t say that I blindly came out to L.A. I knew that I had to get a job, find a place to live and get a car. I set up shop. What I love is that I bought a house and I can see the building where I used to work, right out my window. I used to cry, every day, saying “Why did I move out here? What is going to happen?” Once I got all of that out of my system, I just focused and started meeting people. A girlfriend of mine introduced me to Vincent Cirrincione, my manager, and that was it. Within a year, I was saying goodbye to the job.
MediaBlvd> The characters that you’ve played, throughout your career, really seem to defy stereotypes. Has that been intentional, on your part, when you select roles?
Taraji> It’s all in how the actor interprets the role. My character in Talk to Me was loud and flamboyant. Another actor may not have found as many levels as I did, and may have just played the loudness, and that’s when you have a stereotype. But, they’re all real people. There are reasons why they are doing what they’re doing. When you get into the backstory, and the meat and soul of a person, that’s when you take it from playing it safe. The audience can’t receive it, if you’re not tapping into why the person is like that. I just refuse to play the stereotype. Within all of us, we have stereotypes, but you don’t walk around with that, all of the time.
MediaBlvd> Are there certain types of roles that you haven’t gotten a chance to do yet, that you’re hoping to get to do, in your career?
Taraji> I want to portray an icon. I would love to play Diana Ross. I would love to do her story, just for the wardrobe.
MediaBlvd> With all the work that you’ve done in your career, is there something that you’re most proud of, or that holds a special place in your heart?
Taraji> All of them. They’re all special in their own right. They were all a step to get to the next project. A culmination of everything I’ve done. I’m most proud of my upcoming film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button because it stretched me. My character ages from 26 to 71, in the film, with prosthetics, voice and everything. And, it’s a period piece. I can’t wait to see it. I’m about to do re-shoots on it. I play Brad Pitt’s mother. I never thought that, starring opposite Brad Pitt, I could be his mother. I was thinking something a little more sexy. But, his character is born with a rare aging disease. He’s aging backwards. He’s left on my doorstep, and I adopt him and raise him. I also got to work with Cate Blanchett, in a couple of scenes.
MediaBlvd> What was the experience of working with director David Fincher like?
Taraji> It was incredible. What I love about Fincher is that he leaves no stone unturned. Some people complain about how many takes he does, but it’s easy to get lazy in this business. It’s easy to say, “Oh, well, that’s good enough.” Why not shoot for the stars? Why not shoot for the moon? You’re only going to be in that location one time, so why not try to get the best out of it? And, as an actor, why not try to switch it up? If he does a thousand takes, you can explore it a little deeper and come up with something else they can add to the scene. I didn’t have a problem with it. I know a lot of people say he does a lot of takes, but I love that about him. He’s looking at the picture on the wall behind your head, so when you’re standing there, giving your heartfelt monologue, it doesn’t look like you have horns growing out of your head. He pays attention to that kind of detail, and I love him for that. I would work with him for many moons.
MediaBlvd> With all the amazing people that you’ve worked with, is there someone that you still really want to get a project together with?
Taraji> Oh, I can’t nail that down. There’s so many people. There’s directors I want to work with again. I would love to work with Fincher again, and Kasi Lemmons and John Singleton. My thing is that it has to be the right project and the right combination. My goal is to reach as many people as I can, and to share my God-given talent with as many people as I can. I don’t want to be pigeonholed into just one market. I want to touch a lot of people through my art. You never know where I might pop up.
