Linda Barnard talks to Taraji P Henson about her Oscar-nominated role as Benjamin Button's surrogate mother, Queenie. It was made of silicone, run by three puppeteers and had wires "coming out its backside," but Taraji P Henson, nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Queenie in The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button, knew she had to look as if she adored that odd-looking animatronic baby with all her heart. "I understood that if Queenie didn't love Benjamin Button from the first moment she saw him then the audience wouldn't," she says.
It obviously worked. Audiences - and Oscar voters - have praised her performance as the New Orleans nursing home manager who takes in the strangely ancient-looking foundling Benjamin Button, in the story of a man who is born old and grows younger as the years pass. "I have such a vivid imagination, that was right up my alley because when I was little, I never played with Barbie. I always played with the doll babies. I thought it was cute. I looked at him long enough and he became cute," she says of the wizened "baby" Benjamin puppet that moves its face and arms with uncanny realism.
This is Henson's first role in a big-budget film. The 38-year-old actress, whose name means "hope" in Swahili, had earned solid reviews for her small but pivotal role in 2005's Hustle & Flow, playing a prostitute who helps her boyfriend break into the rap music business. Throughout her career, Henson seems to be a popular choice for characters with strong maternal streaks - including her recent performances in The Family That Preys, and Talk To Me, opposite Don Cheadle. So she was thrilled to star in a video for Jamie Foxx's new single Just Like Me directed by Bret Ratner (the man behind the Rush Hour series).
"It's a chance for my audience to see me do what I think I'm best at: comedy," she says. "I'm a comedic actress. I keep getting dramatic roles. I'm not complaining. I think it makes it easier for me to prove I can be a comedic actress." This self-described "extreme optimist" knows her performance as Queenie could open even more doors for her in Hollywood. "I've never been involved with a major huge studio film of this size. It's just incredible. This is what you hope for as an actor, that you get to this level and stay here."
But she doesn't see this role in terms of breaking a colour barrier. In fact, she says, the issue has never been about that for her. "I never was the one to talk about how there aren't enough jobs. I just don't see a glass ceiling," she says. "Of course, there's a struggle, but if you talk to Cate Blanchett, it's a struggle for her. If you talk to Halle Berry, it's a struggle for her. When you're on the outside looking in, they always say the grass is greener, but it really isn't. It's just a different struggle on a different level. I'm well prepared for the fight; I'm a fighter. Keep knocking: someone's gonna open."