Taraji P. Henson has expressed frustration over not landing a franchise movie role — but she said she always had a feeling it wouldn't happen.
On a recent episode of Hoda Kotb's Making Space podcast, Henson, who currently stars in Broadway play Joe Turner’s Come In Gone alongside Cedric the Entertainer, talked about starring alongside Tyrese Gibson in John Singleton's Baby Boy, and what people's expectations of her were at that time.
"That was huge for me. I was a female lead," Henson remembered around the 21:25 mark of the interview. "I was new to Hollywood, and I just remember everybody coming to me going, 'Oh my God, you’re gonna blow up. Do you understand what John Singleton does to people’s careers?'"
However, the actor erred on the side of caution, explaining that her "discernment" told her she would have a different outcome than Tyrese, whom she "knew deep down" would bag a franchise role.
"After Baby Boy, Tyrese booked two franchise movies, huge: Transformers and Fast & Furious," she said. "I still have not booked my franchise film. Been in the game almost 30 years. No franchise film."
"I’m not gonna cry about it. I mean… I know what it is now. I’m on the other side of the table now. You can’t hurt my feelings anymore because now I know there's politics involved."
Henson has starred in long-running musical drama Empire, and carried voiceover roles in children’s animated franchise flicks like Ralph Breaks the Internet and Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie. She was also in the 2010 revival of The Karate Kid with Jaden Smith, which did not continue as an ongoing series.
While Baby Boy was Henson’s breakout film, she has spoken on nearly being typecast as a "ghetto baby mama" after the movie’s success.
"They just couldn't figure me out, I guess. And I think they're still trying to," she said on a 2025 episode of Baby, This Is Keke Palmer.
