Taraji P. Henson Chats BTS Details & Her Bond with the Cast of ‘The Color Purple’

As it turns out, the cast still keeps in touch to this day. Henson said, "We have created such a bond. We have a thread, we check in on each other every day, we send funny memes and funny videos, we're always laughing, even though we're not in each other's presence. I mean, Cory [Hawkins] is in a different country right now, but we check in on each other when we're not around each other."

Although Henson totally nailed her performance in the Golden Globe-nominated film, she revealed that this role was out of her comfort zone. She said, "That's how I pick my roles, if they don't scare me, then I don't do them because fear is something you have to overcome. If I'm transformed and overcoming my fear, then hopefully, the audience will transform in some ways. I love a good challenge, and [Shug] challenged the hell out of me."

When asked about her similarities to Shug, Henson said that she related to her emotional struggles. She told us, "I felt connected to her as a woman, for sure. I felt connected to her as a woman who has pain. I connected to her blues. You know, that emptiness that she was chasing, looking for love. I connected with her on a lot of things."

As for how they differ, Henson insists that she's not as graceful in real life. She added, "A lot of things were new to me. I'm a klutz. I'm not as elegant as she is, I'd be tripping and falling over myself. I got all kinds of nicks and bumps and things from falling."

With regards to her Always Discreet partnership, Henson chatted about the importance of mental wellness and advocating for open discussions about perimenopause.

She said, "I love this campaign because it's really what my brand is all about: mental wellness, self-care, educating yourself about things and de-stigmatizing things that make us self-isolate or prevent us from getting the help that we need."

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