Taraji P. Henson Quotes

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.

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.

I'm constantly proving myself. I have to always prove myself. There are roles where I feel like, "That should have been a straight offer. Why am I having to call my people and fight for it?"

I'm not a selfish actor. I believe that it's a team effort. You're not in a scene by yourself.

Humans have a light side and a dark side, and it's up to us to choose which way we're going to live our lives. Even if you start out on the dark side, it doesn't mean you have to continue your journey that way. You always have time to turn it around.

I love the art of acting, so I don't care if I'm in a movie with 10 people, two people, or by myself. I just really enjoy it.

Date a woman with children only if you are ready to man up, because it's a position that comes with responsibility.

I don't harp on the negative because if you do, then there's no progression. There's no forward movement. You got to always look on the bright side of things, and we are in control. Like, you have control over the choices you make.

If I feel like I've reached this greatness in my career than there's no more room for growth. I don't think I'm ever going to get there. If I ever get complacent, it's time for me to bow out.

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.

I really wish Hollywood would stop labeling movies, especially movies with predominantly black casts. Then, it makes others feel like, "Oh, well, that's not for me." At the end of the day, everybody understands love, loss, pain and heartbreak. That's not a color.

When I go home to visit, they never treat me like a celebrity. They still treat me like TJ. If I leave dishes in the sink, they'll let me know.

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.

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.

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.

At the end of the day, I stand by who I am. I'm a good person.

I'm always interested in challenging myself and pushing, and seeing how far I can go.

Love is the greatest gift that God has given us. It's free.

I don't think a living being should suffer for the sake of fashion, period. End of story. You don't have to kill an animal just because you want to be hot and fly. And I really stand by that.

Every human walks around with a certain kind of sadness. They may not wear it on their sleeves, but it's there if you look deep.

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.

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.

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.

I'm always talking to the writers because I find it so fascinating, how they're able to go to these different levels with the different stories, and have all these layers to peel back.

A woman is gentle, soft, delicate, and a man's position is to protect her, help her up stairs, make sure she's in the car safely first. Take good care of your woman, and the sky's the limit!

I'm really silly. That's the thing that people don't get. I think I'm a stronger comedic actress than I am a dramatic actress. I'm not really pigeonholed, but I'm known for drama. I do comedy so easily, and people relate to my humor. I'll be glad because I don't have to stay sexy and young forever. I don't care if I'm big, as long as I'm funny.

I like to disappear in my roles because I don't have an assistant.

I'm always the cousin that can't make it to the family functions because I'm busy.

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.

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.

When I come home, it's about my kid, who needs to eat, needs to do homework, and needs to get to basketball. I don't have a lot of time to think about me.

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.

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

If I were to meet the most incredible man, and he just so happened to not make as much money as I do, I wouldn't hold it against him.

I just hate when things get labeled as "black movies." I don't say, "Oh, this weekend, I want to see an all-white movie," or "I want to see a black movie." I just go to a movie because I saw the previews and I relate to it. I want to see it because the previews look interesting.

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.

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.

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.

I've been doing a lot of drama, but I feel like comedy is my strength.

I don't ever want to get boxed in, playing the same characters, over and over again. That's why I prefer features over television.

I would love to play a superhero. I wish I could be in 'The Avengers,' kicking butt.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Something happens to a woman when she can't reproduce. I've not had to walk that path, but I can only imagine when your organs don't work and how that could make you feel.

Once you're a mom, always a mom. It's like riding a bike, you never forget.