Taraji P. Henson on Empathy for Single Mom Character in ‘Tyler Perry’s Straw’ (Exclusive)

Tyler Perry and Taraji P. Henson sit down with “Extra’s” Carlos Greer to talk about their new drama “Tyler Perry’s Straw.”

Taraji plays Janiyah, a single mother who’s trying to get by in the face of overwhelming odds, leading her to become embroiled in a situation she never envisioned. 

Tyler shared, “There are a couple of lines in the movie that sum it all up. One is, ‘You don't know how expensive it is to be poor,’ and the other is, ‘Nobody sees us.’”

He went on to explain the premise, “This is about a group of people who are on the margins — who are not being seen, not being acknowledged, not being represented — and find themselves in all of these crazy situations just to survive, and what happens when all of that build-up, you hit the final straw in this powder keg.”

Perry added, “The way it all unfolds, there are many people who are dealing with this on this planet.”

Taraji talked about how Perry always challenges her, adding, “I love a good challenge, and when characters scare the hell out of me, those are the ones that I lean into.”

She also opened up about relating to Janiyah and what she hopes audiences will take away.

She shared, “I'm a single mother. I've had hard times, absolutely, but the difference between Janiyah and I is that I had support — she didn't. So, I empathize with her, and that's what I wanted to show. I wanted to show what it looks like for a person to have all the odds stacked against them with no help whatsoever, and hopefully what we will invoke is more empathy from the audience to kind of err on the side of kindness when you come across strangers, because you never know what cross they're carrying or bearing. You never know what a person is going through."

Taraji said they did have fun in between takes, sharing, “We have the most fun on his sets, like, it's a good time. For me, when you're dealing with such heavy subject matter, I have to step away in-between takes. That's a must for me, because it has to stay fresh.”

Plus, Tyler and Taraji dished on why they work so well together!

Perry called it “Virgo love,” and Taraji answered, “I understand how his brain thinks because mine is the same way.”

Tyler added, “We can finish each other's sentences when we're working together. She knows where I'm going before I can even ask or say.”

Henson insisted, “I can tell if he got what he needs in the way he says ‘cut.' Like, if he says ‘cut’ a certain way, I’m like, ‘Let’s go again.' Like, I can tell when he has, 'cause I just know him."

As for their next project together, Taraji declared, "I wanna be in the next 'Madea' movie!"

Tyler responded, "That seems, like, so unbalanced and so wrong. You got this Academy Award-nominated actor with 'Hellur!'"

"Hellur!" Taraji echoed, repeating the classic Madea greeting. She persisted, "I wanna... C'mon!"