Taraji P. Henson Reflects On Fighting Typecasting After 'Baby Boy'
Taraji P. Henson discusses almost being typecast after her role as Yvette in “Baby Boy.”
During an interview with Keke Palmer on her podcast, “Baby, This Is Keke,” the “What Men Want” star opens up about only being offered roles similar to Yvette early in her career and how she was “scared” to take on the role as Cookie Lyon on “Empire,” not wanting to be stereotyped as a “sassy, loudmouth Black woman.”
She told Palmer it was “never my intention” and her sole focus is to “breathe life” into the characters she chooses to play.
"It's interesting because when you're first getting started, when you do something really well, then they kind of just send you a lot of scripts like that,” she explained.
“So, it happened when I did ‘Baby Boy’. They sent me every Ghetto Baby Mama role and I was like, 'I'm really classically trained, guys.'”
She continued, expressing how she feels Hollywood was unable to figure her out, and feels they are “still trying to.”
After pushing herself to be seen in a different light in other roles in her career, Henson saved herself from being pigeonholed, but shared she still had to “fight” for herself. As she continued to elevate in her career, “The Color Purple” star began to detect what a “good script” should look like.
“By page ten, if I'm not feeling something, nine times out of ten, it's not a good script.”
During a conversation with Lena Waithe for her podcast series, “Legacy Talk,” the “Think Like A Man” star shared with the producer that her role in “Baby Boy” and the “dysfunctional dynamic” between Yvette and Jody was similar to her real-life experiences.
“There were times when I read that script where I got goosebumps, and I had to put it down because it was literally the blueprint to my baby's father and I's relationship,” she expressed to Waithe.
“That young love, that young toxic hood love. I mean, verbatim.”
