For nearly two decades, director Tyler Perry has been calling on star Taraji P. Henson to play increasingly intense roles.
“I feel like every script that he sends me, he ups it,” Henson told Decider in a recent Zoom interview. “He challenges me, and I really respect that.”
Their latest collaboration, Straw—streaming on Netflix on June 6—casts the 54-year-old Oscar-nominated actor as a single mother named Janiyah, who works two jobs and still struggles to pay her rent. On a particularly bad day that starts with her daughter asking for $40 for lunch and ends with her holding up a bank at gunpoint, Janiyah finally snaps.
To say it’s an emotionally harrowing role is an understatement. Janiyah screams, cries, begs, and crumbles as she endures endless suffering, from losing her job to being evicted. But Henson pushes back on the often-heard criticism Perry—now as known for his sentimental melodramas as he is for his character comedies—exploits Black trauma.
“I hear a lot of people giving [Perry] flack. ‘It’s more Black trauma!'” Henson said. “Well, we have a lot of it. The only way to heal is to talk about it.”
Henson spoke to Decider about portraying that trauma, working with Perry, and brushing off that Color Purple Oscar snub.
Warning: This interview contains spoilers for Straw on Netflix.
DECIDER: This is your fourth film with Tyler Perry. What keeps you coming back, and how has your working relationship evolved over the years?
TARAJI P. HENSON: I think it starts with such a mutual respect for each other. We both are Virgos, so we know how we think, we know how we’re wired. It’s because we’ve worked with each other for so long, and on so many projects. We can complete each other’s sentences. He’ll be across the room, and I’m across the room, and I get it. I know exactly what you’re looking for. There’s an ebb and flow that we have with each other. That’s why we make the art that we make. What I really appreciate about him, is that he’s consistently raising the bar for himself, and then he will also do that for me. I feel like every script that he sends me, he ups it. He ups the game another notch. He challenges me, and I really respect that.
For Straw, tell me how the two of you worked together to build this character, Janiyah Wiltkinson. How did that compare to your first collaboration with him?
The first movie I did was The Family That Preys, and I played more of a comedic relief in that one. Then, I Can Do That All By Myself was a little more dramatic with some comedy moments. Then Acrimony was just like, “Whew!” [Laughs.] He really knows these characters that he’s writing. It was all on the page, to be quite honest. Then I come and do what I do, and I do my backstory, and my whys. What he appreciates—this is what he says—is that I will show him parts of the character that he didn’t even see. That’s what makes our collaboration so good.
What I’m hearing is that he keeps giving you more and more traumatized characters over the years!
You know, the only way you heal trauma is to deal with it, and talk about it. I hear a lot of people giving [Perry] flack, “It’s more Black trauma!” Well, we have a lot of it. The only way to heal is to talk about it. That’s our problem in the Black community. We want to ignore, pretend like things didn’t happen, but it’s the only way you heal. You don’t get over it. You go through it.
Janiyah feels like a more of a timid character than audiences are used to seeing you play. How did you connect with her, and with your more timid side?
Like I said, it was on the page. She’s a woman who doesn’t feel seen. People who don’t feel seen—I try to equate them to like an animal. She’s very mousy. She doesn’t speak out for herself. But she finds herself in these horrible situations, and one thing leads to another situation that’s much worse than the first situation. As humans, we all have a breaking point. You will break if you don’t have a support system. It’s unfortunate that she had to go through all of this, in one day, to finally be seen.
My favorite scene in the film is your big, emotional speech on the phone. I read that it was a very quick shoot, just four days. Was there pressure to get that speech right in just a few takes?
One thing about Tyler’s set is you’re never going to feel pressure. You will feel safe. He’s very nurturing. He gives you all the space in the room you need. How I work with my instrument is, if I can’t remember a line—or if I drop a line or if I forget where I am in these big monologues—what I love about him, and the way I work, is that I let it breathe. I don’t go, “Cut! I forgot the line!” I stay in the moment.
No one’s rushing me to do this monologue, because I supposedly have hostages. So where are they going? All we have is time. I take my time, I stay in the moment, and I let the words find me. Oftentimes when somebody is broken, sometimes they can’t find the words. I rely on that. I allow myself to be in the moment, and I just drop in.
[Warning: The next three questions contain MAJOR SPOILERS. Stop reading now if you haven’t yet seen the movie!]
Tell me about your reaction to that twist ending. I was not expecting that!
I wasn’t either! When I was reading it, I was like, “Oh! Shit!” [Laughs.]
How did you incorporate that into your performance, that her daughter had died the night before?
Reading the script, I was blown away. But then it made sense, in her actions. Because what it showed me was that she snapped a long time ago. She snapped the day before. She was just on automatic. She wasn’t even in her body, to be quite honest. I just played the honesty of her living the life, as if nothing happened.
I was so relieved that she did not die at the end, even though you guys faked us out. Was there ever a version where that was the ending, where she did die?
It was. Then [Perry] said, “I can’t do that to her, and the audience, because this will just kill them.” So that’s why he ended it the way he did, which I thought was great.
It feels like you’ve done so much in your career: drama, comedy, musicals. Is there any role or genre that you haven’t gotten a chance to try yet, or would like to do more of?
I haven’t played a villain. I’m dying to play a villain. So if you have any connections… [Laughs.]
I thought you deserved the Oscar for The Color Purple, and I was angry on your behalf at your snub. Does that kind of thing ever get to you—lack of recognition from certain Hollywood institutes?
No, I’ve gotten used to that. My first hard pill to swallow was Hidden Figures, when I didn’t get nominated. I let it go after that. For me, it’s about the audience, and how I’m affecting them in a positive way. I feel like my fans take it harder than I do. I’ll let you guys deal with that! But when a person, like yourself says it for me, it’s like, well, somebody sees it. I don’t have to say anything.
My last question for you, since Decider is all about TV and movies that you can stream: What are you streaming right now?
I just finished Forever. For the first time, I’m watching The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. I had never seen that, and she got me in a chokehold! I was also told to watch The Better Sister. I’m watching that on the way back to LA, because I hear that’s a good one. That’s what I’m looking at.