Actress Taraji P. Henson has been dominating television and film over the past few years while playing characters that display her wide range of talent, so it’s no wonder why she was honored at this years
Black Girls Rock Awards. We caught up with the proud Washington D.C native at the show and spoke with her on why thinks she was chosen this year, her thoughts on black women supporting each other in the industry, her upcoming film ‘From the Rough,’ and the real drama behind her being left out of the ‘Person of Interest’ promos. Plus, we found out that she signed a record deal! Here’s some excerpts plus
video below:
On Why She’s a Black Girl Who Rocks
I rock because I’m not afraid to be me and live out loud. I’m not ashamed of who I am, I’m not ashamed of where I come from, and I think it’s all that makes me who I am. It’s not where you come from, I think it’s where you’re at and I think I’ve done pretty well.
On How she feels about the camaradarie between black women in this industry
Its competition such as life. It’s all competitive whether I was a lawyer ….I just think being a colored woman in America is a difficult thing. We’re kind of always the after thought and that’s why we need programs like this to remind us that if we don’t have each other, we have nothing because nobody is really for us but us. So if we don’t stick together we will fall and we will fail.
On Being Excluded From The Promos Of Her CBS Show ‘Person of Interest’
I just stated the facts and what happened was the people spoke and that’s the power of having loyal fans. I
communicate with my fans, I talk to my fans and they want to see me and that’s just what you got a glimpse of. The power of my fans. I’m not to be devalued. I’m coming with an army of people that really believe in what I do.
On Her Upcoming Film
It’s called ‘From the Rough’ and it’s one that I’m very, very proud of because I took it not even knowing the director at all, but the story spoke to me because I had never seen a woman, not many women, in a coaching position in cinematography, certainly not a black woman. It was just something that spoke to me, her story, her struggle, and what she was able to accomplish just blew me away and I wanted to portray it not even knowing how it was going to turn out. When you believe in a higher power and you kind of submit to that, you will never be steered wrong. Just because of the passion I have for the craft of acting and what I’m clear on, and why I do what I do is to
touch and move people through the gift that God gave me because we are all here for God anyway, so if you don’t know that then I don’t know what you are doing. But I did that because it was something that little girls needed to see. Not every little girl wants to be in front of the camera. What about the little girls that wants to coach the basketball team? They need a voice; they need to be able to see themselves on the big screen, so that’s why I did it.
What do you want your legacy to be?
I just want people to remember me as a people person. Someone that was passionate about life and about changing others lives for the better, and that’s about it. Just simple.
While on the carpet, she also shared with
The Juice that she’s just signed a record deal. She first shared her voice with the world in the film ‘Hustle & Flow,’ and although she didn’t reveal which label she’ll be releasing the record on, she did say she’ll be creating something “specialâ€:
“I just signed a contract for a record deal. I did, but it has to be something special. I’m not interested in disposable music.[...]I believe people want to hear it, so you have to give the people what they want.†Like a true artist, Taraji said that this is about getting her feet wet and that it’s not about the
money, but about exploring a gift that she’s been given.