Latest Taraji P. Henson Quotes from Interviews

Quotes about:

• I'm not twentysomething. I'm not trying to find myself - I know exactly who I am and exactly what I want. And I don't want a fan. I want a man who understands me, who challenges me, who calls me on my sh-t instead of letting me get away with it because I'm supposed to be a star. I want a best friend.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Men, Challenges, Trying

  Source: www.glamour.com

• I don't think about other people. They are not walking in my shoes. They are not paying my bills. What makes me happy is when I do what I like to do, for me.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Thinking, People, Make Me Happy

  Source: www.glamour.com

• People live by example. I can't tell you, "You can be anything," if I shot my own dreams down or was too afraid to go after them.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Dream, People, Live By

  Source: www.glamour.com

• I'm pretty much the same. I'm consistent. There aren't two mes. There is only one me. I can only be myself, and that's who I always am whether I'm at home or on the carpet.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Home, Consistent, Carpet

  Source: aalbc.com

• I would have to say movies are my favorite. I love doing TV, too, but it's always rush, rush, rush. With a feature film, those moments and scenes get a chance to breathe, because you don't have to accomplish as much in one day.

  Taraji P. Henson

  One Day, Chance, Film

  Source: aalbc.com

• My first big heartbreak proved to me that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Stronger, Big Heart

  Source: aalbc.com

• What gives me the greatest satisfaction is the number of people I can affect with my gift, with what I do. That's the most important thing to me, more important than any trophy or award.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Giving, People, Important

  Source: aalbc.com

• There is always going to be love versus hate; we struggle with that as humans within ourselves every day; as a society, we have to struggle. So when you wake up, you have to decide which side you're going to be on. Hopefully, that side is positive, so you do the work and hope that your legacy will help change things.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Hate, Struggle, Legacy

  Source: www.hollywood.com

• When I get that question, about diversity, I don't go, "Yeah, well you know they don't pay me." That's not my story. I own six properties; Hollywood has been damn good to me. Now you can ask me, "Have they paid you what you deserve?" That's the question, but you'd have to go to the studios, I don't know. I do the work!

  Taraji P. Henson

  Diversity, Ask Me, Property

  Source: www.hollywood.com

• Katherine Johnson never complained, it just was what it was. She just said, "I just wanted to go to work and do my numbers." And she stopped right there. I think about that as a Black woman in Hollywood when I'm asked about diversity. I hate when people say diversity because the first thing you jump to is Black and white. When you talk about diversity, you're talking about women being hired in front of and behind the camera. You are talking about people with disabilities, the LGBTQ community...so I hate when people think about diversity.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Hate, Black And White, Thinking

  Source: www.hollywood.com

• In my mind I'm like, "No, Katherine Johnson it was you. It was your mind alone that got John Glenn to orbit the earth." He didn't say, "Go get so in so." He said, "Go get that smart girl." But that fact that that she sees the "we" in "I," blew me away.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Girl, Smart, Mind

  Source: www.hollywood.com

• When I was growing up, no one ever said to me, "You cannot do math because you're a girl." But, there was an understanding growing up that math and science were for boys. Somebody lied to me because Katherine Johnson woman exists, all of these women existed.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Girl, Growing Up, Math

  Source: www.hollywood.com

• Katherine Johnson passion for math, the way I light up when I get asked questions about acting is the way her eyes danced when she talked about math and how she wanted people to fall in love with numbers the way that she did. If I had a teacher like that, I could have been a rocket scientist.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Teacher, Falling In Love, Passion

  Source: www.hollywood.com

• I talked to Katherine Johnson, and I tried to make it weighty by asking things like, "How as a Black woman did you do your work in NASA? They were misogynistic, and I'm sure you got called the n-word." She was just like, "Well, that was the way it was. I just did my job. I wanted to do my job." She was just so humble.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Humble, Black, Black Women

  Source: www.hollywood.com

• When you are portraying a person that is very real, in my case, Katherine Johnson is still alive, she is 98-years old; there is a responsibility to get it right. I guess the biggest thing that I took away from Katherine was her humility. When you talk about superheroes there are selfless, they don't think about themselves, they put humanity first.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Real, Humility, Responsibility

  Source: www.hollywood.com

• I feel like I'm already a winner. I've made so many dreams come true. I'm here. Whether you walk away with a statue [ Emmy]or not, you shouldn't make it about it that necessarily. Everyone who's here in this house tonight is a winner.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Dream, House, Tonight

  "Taraji P. Henson on Possibly Making Emmys History: 'I Don't Want to Make It About a Material Thing'". Interview with Nancy O'Dell, www.etonline.com. September 20, 2015.

• It's an important moment [win an Emmy]. I just feel like I want it to happen tonight, either for myself or Viola [Davis] so we can get past it, so it's not big news anymore. I mean, it is 2015. We have a black president.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Mean, Past, Black

  "Taraji P. Henson on Possibly Making Emmys History: 'I Don't Want to Make It About a Material Thing'". Interview with Nancy O'Dell, www.etonline.com. September 20, 2015.

• You could be laughing one day about the same issues that you're crying about the next day, so that's life.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Next Day, Issues, Laughing

  "Interview: Taraji P. Henson Talks ‘No Good Deed’ and a Woman’s Intuition (In Theaters Today)". Interview with Nijla Mumin, blogs.indiewire.com. September 12, 2014.

• I think I'm a better comedic actress than I am a dramatic actress, but everybody believes I'm this dramatic actress and I'll take it.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Believe, Thinking, Actresses

  "Interview: Taraji P. Henson Talks ‘No Good Deed’ and a Woman’s Intuition (In Theaters Today)". Interview with Nijla Mumin, blogs.indiewire.com. September 12, 2014.

• On my iPad, and I'm quite a fool for this, but I use Post-It notes to cover up the camera. It's just weird with that little eye there and sometimes it'll be green and I know I didn't turn it on. It's very spooky.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Eye, Ipads, Cameras

  "Comic-Con 2011: Jonathan Nolan, Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, and Taraji P. Henson Talk PERSON OF INTEREST & the Creepiness of Modern Surveillance". Interview with Jason Barr, collider.com. July 26, 2011.

• With camera phones and, you know, iPad's and cameras at stoplights, it's like I just want to drive around with a bag on my head because I just feel like everyone's watching.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Phones, Ipads, Cameras

  "Comic-Con 2011: Jonathan Nolan, Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, and Taraji P. Henson Talk PERSON OF INTEREST & the Creepiness of Modern Surveillance". Interview with Jason Barr, collider.com. July 26, 2011.

• I like to be scared. I don't like feeling like "Oh, this is going to be a walk in the park". If I ever get to that place, I'll just stop acting.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Feelings, Acting, Parks

  "Comic-Con 2011: Jonathan Nolan, Jim Caviezel, Michael Emerson, and Taraji P. Henson Talk PERSON OF INTEREST & the Creepiness of Modern Surveillance". Interview with Jason Barr, collider.com. July 26, 2011.

• So much could go wrong on a date. What if he turns out to be a jerk? [You need] A back-up plan, just in case he doesn't work out, you can move on to the back-up plan.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Moving, Work Out, What If

• Sometimes you have to say the words exactly how they are on the page, but sometimes when you improv, it only helps to get across what's on the page, and I just love working with directors who allow that.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Directors, Pages, Helping

• Improvisation helps because you get what's on the page and you make it a little more palatable to your tongue. And that's the beauty of creating and being spontaneous. That's the way I love to work.

  Taraji P. Henson

  Creating, Littles, Pages