The girl next door

BY: Alison Isaac

Even if you don’t recognize the name, you’ll probably recognize the face. Perhaps best known for her role as Shug in Hustle & Flow, Taraji P. Henson has been putting in work for years.

An eternal optimist who doesn’t believe there are “small” roles, Henson has done music videos with Common and Estelle, and worked on major Hollywood titles like Tyler Perry’s The Family that Preys,  The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress) alongside Brad Pitt, and most recently, The Karate Kid alongside Jaden Smith.

A self-proclaimed crate-digger, Henson remains grounded despite her rising star status. She is the girl next door — even when she’s shooting a film half way around the world.

How do you differentiate between a role that is seemingly stereotypical and those that show an authentic experience?
I really don’t judge, because pretty much all of the characters I’ve played to date could be considered stereotypical. But it’s in how you play that character’s truth. Like Yvette from Baby Boy, I could have played her so stereotypically, but she was a real person. There was a reason why she sucked her thumb, there was a reason why she spoke the way she spoke. I think that’s what I do, I take those characters, who can be so one-note, and bring dimension to those roles that people tend to want to hate and judge. I make them into something you care about. It’s just living the person’s truth.

In Hollywood, is it possible to be an actor of colour without colour being significant?
Anything is possible, but it’s an uphill battle. How do you just become an actor without being a black actor first? Even [for] Halle [Berry], who just wants to be known as an actor, the business is going to see her as a black woman first. It’s unfortunate, but that’s just the world we live in.

Are things getting better?
It’s always getting better. We can always do better, but when I can call my female peers and they’ve just finished a project, or we’re away on location on two different projects, that’s incredible. Once upon a time it wasn’t like that. It’s great for me and Sanaa [Lathan] and Alfre [Woodard] to be in the same movie, with Kathy Bates — that’s a beautiful thing.

“It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp” won an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Some wondered why the first black rap group to win such an award had to be for a song about pimps.

That’s people judging, and that’s what humans do. Don’t sweep pimps and hoes under the carpet like they don’t exist. The only way you’re going to have change is if you put these images out there so people can see them. Don’t judge me for doing my job, get up off your lazy butt and go do something about it. Change it so that we don’t have these images anymore. Don’t sit back and judge me, the artist, for doing my job, for showing you the nooks and crannies of society that still exists.

How do you measure success?
It’s about how happy I am. A person can be filthy rich and so “successful,” but unhappy. Is that really success? To be able to be an employed actor in this recession and not feel it is incredible. I never thought I’d be writing cheques for my son to go to school — that’s a feat, coming from where I come from. So I’m very successful.

See interview with Jaden Smith, Taraji P.Henson and Jackie Chan on Lopez Tonight, June 16, 2010.