Taraji P. Henson
Taraji P. Henson
Taraji Penda Henson is an American actress and singer. She studied acting at Howard University and began her Hollywood career in guest-roles on several television shows before making her breakthrough in Baby Boy. In 2005, she starred in Hustle & Flow and played Queenie in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, for which she received an Academy Award nomination. In 2010, she appeared in the comedy Date Night and co-starred in the remake of The Karate Kid. In...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActress
Date of Birth11 September 1970
CountryUnited States of America
Improvisation helps because you get what's on the page and you make it a little more palatable to your tongue. And that's the beauty of creating and being spontaneous. That's the way I love to work.
When I go home to visit, they never treat me like a celebrity. They still treat me like TJ. If I leave dishes in the sink, they'll let me know.
I'm always talking to the writers because I find it so fascinating, how they're able to go to these different levels with the different stories, and have all these layers to peel back.
I'm a creative person, so I have to stay busy.
Singing is something I can do, but it's not my first passion.
I don't care if you're a man, if you're a player: If God sends you that one and your heart is in it, you'll work it out.
I'm always confident when I sign up for a project that it's going to be good. That's why I sign up for it.
The best thing about being in New York is the people, and you get to walk everywhere.
Well, for one, I don't judge my characters.
With TV, you get on a show and you're there for 11 years playing the same character. I would pull my hair out. Yes, the money is good. But I'm really not in this business to chase dollars.
I would love to do a biopic of a famous singer, like Diana Ross or Donna Summer, or an old jazz story that we haven't seen before. I would love to do that! I would love to play Diana Ross 'cause she's an icon. I'm salivating to do that.
I'm really silly. That's the thing that people don't get.
Oftentimes, when you have a huge studio film and you have big names attached, they like to keep attaching big names.
With TV, the pace is so fast, the scripts are coming at you, the directors are firing things at you, it's breathtaking.