It's immediately evident that Taraji P. Henson is the accessible actress one might assume she'd be from her films.
"Oh, hey cookies!" she says with delight about the platter of bite-size chocolate chip morsels awaiting her in her W Atlanta-Buckhead suite. She quickly scarfs one down, as if she's not in a room with cameras, microphones and publicists.
Henson, perhaps best known for performing the Oscar-winning song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" in John Singleton's "Hustle & Flow," is in town to promote what could be her highest-profile role yet. She plays the "mother" to Brad Pitt's character in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."
Though she earned a best breakthrough performance nod for "Hustle" from the MTV Movie Awards, and was hard to forget alongside Oscar nominee Don Cheadle in "Talk to Me," Henson still doesn't think she's established a name in Hollywood.
Which elicits the first question:
Q: Why?
A: Well the outside world — which I like, the reality — is where you live. And then there's Hollywood. And how it works is if you've never been in a film of this magnitude — "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" — that brings in numbers, has international appeal, then you are a no name. So that's the category I fall under. ...This is a breakout film for me.
Q: At the screening [a night earlier] you said your father saw you at this point in your career long ago. What specific kinds of things did he see you in as an actress?
A: Actually my dad saw everything that's happening now. Like if he was still alive, he'd be like, "I told you." Like when "Hustle & Flow" — the height of "Hustle & Flow" is when he became ill — I would call him going, "Daddy, guess what they're saying about me?!" He would be like, "You're not telling me nothing'. ... This is the stuff he spoke into my life."
Q: Was it always acting he saw in you or was he just saying that in general?
A: He said, "Well, you're a great actor but wait until the world hears you sing." This was before I even sang at the Oscars. This was before I even knew the song — this was just [while she was] doing press for "Hustle & Flow."
I think he also wanted me to pursue the singing career, but that's not a first passion of mine. That's something that I can do. I studied musical theater in college. But my first passion is acting.
Q: Certainly having performed a song that won an Oscar, one could think a Grammy might be next. Has that not crossed your mind? Someone approached you?
A: I've had a couple of hits here and there but nothing really of interest for me —really.
Q: Really?
A: Yeah, because I'm not interested in making disposable music. We have enough of that. I want something that's innovative and different. It takes time to hone that. It takes time to find a voice. And to be quite honest, I just haven't been in that world. If some producer comes to me with an incredible idea that we could collaborate on, I'm all for it. But it's not something I'm seeking out.
Q: To borrow a line learn from your character in "Benjamin Button," learn anything worth repeating from Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett?
A: Ummm, you know, I guess the main thing I learned — a lot of the lessons came from David Fincher, the director. Of course, they're brilliant — Cate and Brad both are [such] brilliant actors and talents — but the director, [just] learning from Fincher and how he works and how meticulous he is and how he pays attention to the smallest of details. I learned a lot of patience. ... It's very rare in feature films when you get a chance to do as many takes as he does. ... He's quite nurturing for a man.
Q: Same question in regard to Tyler Perry.
A: Tyler Perry! Now see I went from "Benjamin Button" — and there was something else in between that came after — and I got kind of used to that many takes. Then I get to Tyler Perry, who sees it in two takes and he's like [snaps] moving on. ... Then I see the film ["The Family That Preys"] and it totally works, too.
Q: You said at the screening you really enjoyed Atlanta.
A: Love it!
Q: Is that when you really got to look at the city and hang out, working on "Family"?
A: Well, I used to come down like in the early '90s, when Atlanta first exploded. ... I had a girlfriend here in real estate who was like, "You can get a house for $100,000 sitting on five acres of land!" And I came down and I fell in love with the city then. That was before it became At-lan-ta: New Millennium. So when I came back for the Tyler Perry film, I fell back in love with Atlanta.
Usually when I'm on location and it's time to go, my bags are packed like two days before it's time for me to go. I'm like, "Bye! See ya!" I was literally at the airport weeping [when she left Atlanta]. So I've got to look for a house here. I love the people. I love the food. The shopping. It's like Southern hospitality love mixed with city flavor.
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