It may be one of the most memorable moments in the film, but when Taraji P. Henson thinks of filming her big monologue in Hidden Figures, it conjures up some painful personal memories for her.
Henson opened up about the devastating moment in a candid conversation with Lena Waithe in the latest episode of the Lemonada Media podcast Legacy Talk.
“Honestly, I was going through something very tragic in my life, a loved one of mine was suffering, and we were trying to keep them alive,” Henson admitted when Waithe asked her what she was thinking on set the day her monologue was filmed. In the biographical drama, Henson plays Katherine Johnson, one of three female Black mathematicians working at NASA during the space race — alongside Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe).
In the monologue, Katherine is confronted by their boss, played by Kevin Costner, who wants to know why she’s always taking long breaks. She angrily and powerfully informs him that, as a person of color, she is forced to walk half a mile off-site to use the nearest restroom. She also informs him of the discrimination she endures every day, which he had previously been completely unaware of.
The day the scene was filmed, Henson said she was busy “running to the phone — my makeup artist had the phone — and I was like, ‘Keep them on the line. Do not let them hang up.’”
Henson continued, “I said, ‘We have to figure out if we call 911, if the cops show up, they might shoot them. We want the paramedics to show up.’ So, I’m dealing with that. I’m running down the hall because I’m trying to be out of earshot so no one hears, so I’m running down the hall in between takes to keep the person on the phone and I’m running back to do the scene. This is going on that entire scene.”
The Empire alum didn’t elaborate on the situation or who it involved, but added of the on-set experience, “I was there, but was I? You know what I mean? … That monologue means a totally different thing to me because the memory of what I was actually going through trying to get through that monologue.”
Unique Nicole/FilmMagic
Taraji P. Henson at the 14th Annual Governors Awards in 2024
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Elsewhere in the podcast episode, Waithe sits down with the Academy Award-nominated star for a conversation about the roles that changed her life, from Cookie Lyon to Shug in Hustle & Flow, and more.
Hosted by Emmy-winning writer, producer, and actor Lena Waithe (Master of None, The Chi), and produced by Waithe’s Hillman Grad, each episode of Legacy Talk features Waithe and legendary Black icons in conversation about specific projects in their careers that have served as key moments or milestones in their lives. Watch the full episode with Henson, above.
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