Empire star Taraji P Henson has just published her first tell-all, Around the Way Girl wherein she has done some deep reflecting on the ups and downs of being a part of Hollywood. Apart fom that the 240-page read, released Oct. 11 also offers a candid insight into a myriad of topics. Check out a few t interesting revelations that she has put down in ink
1. She almost put all her belongings on garage sale - Henson was ready to give up on her dreams in 2006 and was preparing to sell all her belongings at a garage sale before landing an audition for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. "When my manager, Vince, called to tell me the director, David Fincher, wanted to meet, I wasn't really excited by the prospects of sitting in a cattle call of actresses scrapping for the job. Plus, the meeting fell on the day that I was hosting a garage sale at my place, and I was way more hustling to sell my gently worn dresses, stilettos and other personal goodies..." she recalls. The movie role proved to be ger first major break through.
She earned much less than her Bejamin Button co-stars - When cast as the adoptive mother of Pitt's character in the 2008 drama, the actress writes that despite being "listed as the third principal actor in the cast," Henson was paid "the equivalent of sofa change compared with what my co-stars received." In it Henson explains she expected to receive a salary "worthy of a solid up-and-coming actress with a decent amount of critical acclaim for her work," but instead was offered a number in the "lowest" of six-figures and had to front her own hotel expenses while filming.
She lost out on roles due to colour - Naomi Watts was offered a part initially written "specifically" for Taraji. In a chapter titled "On Being a Black Woman in Hollywood," Henson discloses a career-stalling incident in which she was forced to forgo her part as a pregnant stripper in 2014's St. Vincent to Watts. "Time and again, I've lost roles because someone with the ability to green-light a film couldn't see black women beyond a very limited purview he or she thought ‘fit' audience expectations," Henson writes.
4. Angelina Jolie to the rescue: When the 46-year-old lost out on earning an Oscar in the Best Supporting Actress category in 2009, Henson writes that her seatmates, Pitt and Jolie, "reached over to me after my loss, worried that I might be upset... 'I'm fine,' I insisted. 'Can I get some more wine?' 'Let's go get a shot,' Angelina countered. Brad and Angie's support for me during that entire awards season means more to me than they'll ever know."
Her "best acting" performance was getting Idris Elba: Henson went behind the camera to produce and star in 2014 crime thriller, No Good Deed but getting Irdis Elba on board was a tough task. Taraji says she went into "Single Mom Hustle mode" to convince Idris. 'I really need this gig, okay? I got a son back home and that tuition is kicking my ass and I can't afford to miss out on the opportunity. I can't do this without you, literally.' she told Idris, who finally agreed
Henson didn't want to star in Empire :Taraji had zero interest in taking her acting chops to the small screen. "'I don't want to do this,'" I said [to my manager.] 'I've done this before: she's street, she's hood. I don't need to do this again.'" Ultimately, Henson saw taking on Cookie as a challenge to get "viewers and critics alike [to] see past her troubles and straight into her heart."
Cookie Lyon's role is based on life experiences: Henson took on Cookie Lyon's role in Empire by making the character after her own struggles. "I quickly came to embrace Cookie because she is, to some extent, me. I'm that girl with whom everyday woman identifies. I'm that struggle. Hell, I'm the American dream. I didn't go to an Ivy League school, I didn't study at Juilliard, I didn't grow up in a mansion. I came from the goddamn hood and put myself through Howard University... I'm not some fantasy. I'm tangible."
