Taraji P. Henson and Jeffrey Wright Bond Over Conquering All Genres: ‘If It Doesn’t Scare the S— Out of Me, I Don’t Want to Do It’
variety.comJeffrey Wright and Taraji P. Henson sit down to discuss their acclaimed performances — as cantankerous novelist Thelonious “Monk” Ellison in “American Fiction” and sensuous singer Shug Avery in “The Color Purple” — Wright is eager to address one topic first: their shared hometown.
It turns out both acting titans hail from Washington, D.C. “I’m wondering if we might be family,” Wright, an Emmy and Tony winner, jokes.
But he’s truly curious about how growing up in the nation’s capital has informed Henson’s acting. She credits the city’s “tough audiences” — and her hard-earned diploma from Howard University — with giving her the thick skin she needed to create an iconic character like Cookie on “Empire,” as well as for her Oscar-nominated turn in “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” TARAJI P.
HENSON: I’ve been a student of your work for a very long time. You are absolutely one of the top in the game, one of my favorites.
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