An eye on the pride
Empire is back with a bang as Taraji P Henson dishes the dirt on her fierce lioness character Cookie Lyon.
“Whenever there is a crisis, Cookie is on standby, ready to rescue and protect her family from harm’s way,” says Taraji P Henson. Cookie is in fight mode as the second half of season 5 of Empire (2013- current) kicks off but it’s not a good start for her – the mid-season finale ended with her learning that her record exec hubby Lucious (Terrence Howard) has a secret son named Kinsley (AZ Kelsey) and there was a flashback scene of her eldest son Andre ( Trai Byers) fighting for his life in hospital. “She’s the glue for the Lyon family, they depend on her to keep them together. And let me tell you this, Cookie would do anything for her cubs,” explains the 48-year- old actress.
Cookie lied to the police to protect her gay son Jamal (Jussie Smollett) from going to prison for murder in season 3 and she’s bent over backwards to keep her youngest, most problematic son Hakeem (Bryshere Y Gray) from losing his wife and kids. “Everyone trusts Cookie because she’s reliable. She survived 18 years in prison, so nothing is going to break her or stop her from holding the family together in times of trouble,” adds Taraji, who started 2019 on a high note by receiving her star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. We caught up with the seasoned actress during her South African press tour in December 2018 and she reveals secrets about Cookie and her Lyon pride.
Cookie is such a complex character. She can be warm and nurturing and in the same
breath pull a gun on you… Of course! She is a great mother, but like everyone she is flawed. Cookie’s hard personality was inspired by my late dad Boris Henson. He was witty, tough, unapologetically himself. Like Cookie, he had a sharp tongue and funny enough, most of Cookie’s funny punchlines from the first season were stolen from him. Do you share any personality traits with your character? Cookie and I are nothing alike. I am more reserved whereas she’s always is ready to pop off, saying something without thought. I know when to refrain and avoid petty arguments. Cookie just wants the last word no matter who it’s with or what it’s about. With all the music on the show, do you ever feel like breaking out in song and dance with the other actors? Always. Because the songs are recorded way ahead of time, I’m always the only one who hasn’t heard the song before we shoot a scene. Cookie isn’t a musician – she is the record executive. Although my script doesn’t direct me to, I’ll snap my fingers and bob my head during the performance because it’s my first time hearing the songs. You’ve said before that you’re like a mother hen with your onscreen sons. There’s one word for our chemistry: fun. We have grown close over the seasons. We will laugh a lot, joke around, take videos on our phones, we’ve become real family. Empire goes a two-month breaks during each season. Is that enough time to do other projects? Not at all! I film a lot of movies during the winter hiatus even though they’re not long. I didn’t have a break in 2017; I went straight into filming 2018 action thriller Proud Mary and drama film The Best Of Enemies [which releases in cinemas in April this year]. I was exhausted but the hard work was worth the sleepless nights. What do you get up to when are do get a break from filming movies and shows? I binge watch a lot of series. I enjoy crime dramas like Queen Of The South (2016- current), Snowfall (2017- current) and Ozark (2017- current). During my 22-hour flight back to the US, I’ll be binging on church drama Greenleaf (2016- current). You never really take a break from this industry because there is always so much to see and do.