Recently,
I had the magnificent pleasure
to sit down with the splendid
women of Tyler Perry’s new film,
“The Family That Preys.”
We met on the rooftop of
the luxurious Empire Hotel in
NYC to discuss the film, but
realized, almost instantly, that
this was going to be more of a
treat than work. Sanaa,
the thinker of the three, was
open and honest about her
thoughts on Tyler Perry, Alfre
Woodard and even relationships.
Taraji, with her
magnificently bright smile is a
true girlfriend. Clearly, she
has a sense of who she is and
makes no apologies about it.
She’s comfortable in the
presence of the matriarch, Alfre
Woodard and her soul-sister
Sanaa Lathan. Sitting in the
presence of Alfre Woodard,
you almost overlook the fact
that she’s a celebrity, but more
like royalty. She has such a
company with her that the
simplest of words carry the
weight of legacy and heritage.
She’s your mother; full of
wisdom and knowledge. You don’t
want to miss her.
What was it
like working with Tyler Perry?
Sanaa Lathan:
He’s a maverick. He’s creating his
own lane and giving voice to a whole
community that doesn’t have one. He’s
creating an avenue of work for, not only
actors, but crew, caterers, stylists,
you name it.
Taraji
Henson: I love Tyler. I’ve
always known that I wanted to do
something with him. Here he was
trying something new and I wanted to
be apart of it. He called me up and
offered me the role and I didn’t
have to audition for the part. I
jumped on it.
Alfre
Woodard: I did discover is that I
didn’t know I was missing. The people
that I worked around (all of the staff
members) gave me a lot of recognition in
a very old fashion way. The traditional
church feel is what I loved. It was very
relaxed and heartfelt. They’re southern
people. I love southern people
Sanaa, your
character Andrea is one that we’ve
never seen you play before. What was
it like to play her?
Sanaa Lathan:
Her ambition is bigger than her
morality. She was a bad women who wanted
what she wanted and that was that. It
was fun to play her. I’ve never played a
character like her. Who wants to play
the “good girl” all the time? It
was fun.
Taraji
Henson: Well, I play Pam and finally
I have a stable and not dysfunctional
role. I wanted to make sure early on in
my career not to be put in a box. That’s
why, immediately after “Baby Boy”,
I went to television. Then on to
something else. I didn’t want to be the
“Baby Mama Drama In The Hood”
actress.
Alfre
Woodard: I didn’t want her to be
a religious woman running around
quoting the Bible. Instead, I wanted
her to be a woman that shared the
“Good News.” Alice was informed
by the Bible, it didn’t imprison
her. More people could identify with
her. I didn’t want to play a
Christian, I wanted to play a
person. There’s none of me in Alice.
I made her up. I discovered her. I
didn’t learn anything about myself
either. I’m grown, I’ve been grown a
long time.
You ladies
are really busy, what will you be
working on next?
Sanaa Lathan:
TV is next for me. FOX-TV has
created a spin-off of the “Family
Guy”. His neighbor Cleveland now has
his own show. I play his wife,
Donnatella. We do know that it comes out
Fall 2009, but the date is not clear
yet. It had to be sent to Korea to be
animated.
Taraji
Henson: I’ll have a brief
appearance on ABC’s Eli Stone.
I play Loretta Devine’s daughter
Angela. We have a somewhat strained
relationship because I wanted to be
a dancer and she forced me to be a
doctor. Also, I have a new film
coming out where I play Brad Pitt’s
mom. It was a challenging role, not
only, in the sense that I am black
and he is white, but that I age in
this film from 26 to 72 years old.
Not that I’ve been any of those ages
(laughing).
Alfre
Woodard: TV is next for me. I’m
starring along side Christian
Slater in “My Own Worst
Enemy” . Christian is
Henry Spivey, a middle-class
efficiency expert living a humdrum
life in the suburbs with a wife, two
kids, a dog, and a minivan.
Edward Albright is an operative
who speaks 13 languages, runs a
four-minute mile, and is trained to
kill.... Henry and Edward are polar
opposites who share only one thing
in common—the same body. Personally,
I like Christian Slater, he’s a
great partner to volley with.
