"Empire" star Taraji P. Henson (Photo : Reuters/Danny Moloshok)
Before "Empire" season 2 premieres on Sept. 23, Taraji P. Henson made history as the first African-American woman to win Best Actress in a Drama Series at the Critics' Choice Television Awards for playing Cookie Lyon, a role she said she was not immediately comfortable with.
In an interview with The Wrap, Henson explained how she felt when she learned about her "Empire" character. She said she was scared to death and struggled with it because Cookie Lyon was "so ghetto."
"But then I was like, 'But she's so real. She speaks the truth,"' Henson said about the daring and feisty matriarch of the Lyon family.
It did not take long before taking on the Cookie Lyon role paid off. On May 31, Sunday, the Critics' Choice Television Awards made Henson its first African-American recipient of its Best Actress in a Drama Series award.
Before the award, Henson and the "Empire" team gathered at an outdoor mall in Los Angeles for a panel and mini-concert last week. During the discussion about the possibility of winning the Emmys, Lee Daniels said he and his "Empire" co-creator Danny Strong do not do the show for the awards.
"We do it to tell the truth," Strong explained, Vulture quoted him as saying. "I think awards are fun and exciting. If you want to nominate me, I will show up in a tuxedo, but ultimately, it's about storytelling. But we'll be there."
In response, Henson jokingly told Strong, "Clean that up, buddy! I'm trying to make history!"
According to Henson, it would be incredible if she became the first African-American artist to win the Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama Series.
