Taraji P. Henson had her breakthrough role in the Lifetime police drama The Division in 2003. Since then she has starred in movies ranging from ‘Four Brothers’ to last summer’s ‘The Karate Kid’ remake, and she was nominated for the 2008 Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Queenie in ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons.’ Now she’s coming back to Lifetime in January 31′s TAKEN FROM ME: THE TIFFANY RUBIN STORY.
In Taken from Me, which is based on a true story, Taraji plays Tiffany Rubin, whose ex-boyfriend kidnapped their son and took him to South Korea. To get him back, Tiffany asks for help from Mark Miller (Terry O’Quinn) who runs the charitable organization The American Association for Lost Children and eventually decides to go to South Korea herself.
Daemon’s TV was there when Taraji answered questions about why she wanted to play Tiffany, how she prepared for the role, and whether she would consider returning to television full time.
On playing Tiffany
When asked what drew her to this role, Taraji answered, “I had never played a real-life person up until that point. All of my characters had been fictional, so there was an excitement to playing a real person and then her story is amazing.” Tiffany’s strength was also a plus. “I’ve always liked playing women who are victims but who don’t settle for being a victim.”
That strength became Taraji’s favorite part of the role. “[I loved] what she stood for. It’s so easy to become a victim and she never did that. Even though she couldn’t get help from the powers that be, she found a way to get her child back.”
When asked how she prepared for the role, Tiffany answered, “I read my script over and over. Even while we’re filming, I’m still reading it because you’re always in a different place when you read things and you receive and pick up different information depending on the day and your mood. I try to get to why the character is the way they are. For the emotional stuff, usually it’s on the page and sometimes I have to draw from personal experience.”
For Taken from Me, Taraji didn’t have to look far for inspiration. “Being a mother made me totally understand her struggle and why she fought so hard. It just made me understand her emotional roller coaster. I really didn’t have to do too much acting because I just put myself in her shoes and what I would do if my son was in another country and I didn’t know anything about it.”
Taraji had to learn some Korean for the role, something she said “wasn’t difficult once you know what you’re saying. I remember the Korean teacher kept telling me I did a good job because I didn’t say it like I was learning it. I said it with feeling like I could understand the tone and tempo of what I was saying.”
While playing a real person has its challenges-Taraji joked, “She’s still alive and can critique my performance”-this film was more about the actual story than anything else. “Tiffany wasn’t really concerned about me being her or getting her mannerisms down,” Taraji explained. “She just worried about sticking true to the story and her passion for getting her son back. On a global scale, no one knows who Tiffany Rubin is, so it was just sticking true to her feelings and what she was going through.”
When asked if she knew how Tiffany felt about the finished film, Taraji said, “I’m pretty sure she’s seen it… I saw it last night and I felt every beat, every moment that was written. I don’t know– I hope she is [happy with it]. I pray!”
On raising awareness about child abductions
Taken from Me focuses on the horrors of child abduction and in it we learn about an organization called The American Association for Lost Children. Taraji thinks the exposure for that group is important. “A lot of parents don’t even know that organization exists, so hopefully that will get the word out and we can start bring these kids home.
For her part, shooting the film was a bit of a wake-up call re: abductions. “You kinda know when a situation happens and it’s in the media and it’s big and then it goes away. It made me remember how many kids-how many families-are going through this. It reminded me that it’s still an issue.” She hopes it will do the same for others.
On her favorite role
Taraji said that Vernell from ‘Talk to Me’ is her favorite role so far. “I love that because I’m a child of the 70s. I love the wardrobe and costumes. I love her range: she was funny, she was crazy, she was vulnerable, she was quiet, she was loud. I just thought that was a great display of my range of acting.”
On a return to television
While Taraji said she would be open to coming back to series television, don’t expect to find her on an hour-long drama. She explained, “I’m trying to move in a different direction. More comedy- oriented. I’ve been doing drama for twelve years. I want to laugh. I don’t want to cry anymore.”
Whatever projects Taraji does next, she admitted there are challenges. “The most difficult struggle for me is trying to get these studio executives to realize that I am bankable-that black women and black films are bankable. You just have to do them right. You have to take time and promote them properly. That’s my goal right now-to get movies greenlit.”
Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story premieres on Lifetime Monday, January 31, 2011 at 9 pm eastern/ 8pm central and will be immediately followed by the documentary Beyond the Headlines: The Tiffany Rubin Story.
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