There’s a person Taraji P. Henson wants you all to meet and her name is Vivian Thomas.
Earlier this month, audiences at the Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival had a sneak peek at Vivian when Henson screened the first episode of Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist.
The limited series, which premieres September 5 on Peacock, is the very real-life story of an Atlanta numbers runner Gordon “Chicken Man” Williams (Kevin Hart) who seizes an opportunity to expand his business ––and pockets –– by hosting a casino-themed house party for notorious gangster Frank Moten (Samuel L. Jackson) on the evening of a pivotal Muhammad Ali fight. Henson stars as Vivian, Chicken Man’s astute business partner, confidante, and lover.
The award-winning actress is no stranger to playing a firecracker. Look at the material: ruthless assassin Mary in Proud Mary, unhinged hitwoman Sharice Waters in Smokin’ Aces, and unfiltered mama bear Cookie Lyon in Empire. In Fight Night, Henson stresses that Vivian is not a version of Cookie in her bell bottoms era. Vivian is the brains of the business and her canniness is respected by Chicken and their tight-knit hustler community in Atlanta.
“I can’t wait [for folks] to meet her,” says Henson, who’s grinning with anticipation as some of her costars walk into the green room of the film festival. Don Cheadle and Chloe Bailey give hugs and handshakes to producer Will Packer, the series executive producer, and creator and showrunner Shaye Ogbunna. Packer interrupts our chat but Henson playfully shoos him away because she wants to be clear that there are levels to playing women you cannot put in a box.
“When I think about fire, Cookie was a lot of fire, so when I get these characters, I’m always like, ‘Ah, it’s got to be different.’ Well, this clearly is different, different times,” she says. “But Vivian was grounded, she grounded Chicken Man. She wasn’t the pop-off. Cookie’s a pop-off. Yes, she’s a strong woman and she’s about her business, but she had to be a little more thoughtful in how she moved, especially with a bunch of men.”
Henson does explain that it was a man who informed her portrayal of Cookie. “I tapped into my father for Cookie. He was the one person who I knew who literally lived out loud, who was unapologetically himself, he didn’t care,” she says of her dad, Boris Lawrence Henson. “All the bad stuff, he didn’t care, he wore his heart on his sleeve. That’s a bold place to exist in.”
Fight Night is a homecoming for Henson as she’s reunited with several of her male costars and producers from throughout her career. She and Kevin Hart were a part of the ensemble casts for Think Like a Man and its sequel, which was produced by Packer; Henson and Cheadle starred in Talk to Me; and she and Terrence Howard worked together in Hustle & Flow and Empire. This made showing up on set a breeze.
“I just know it’s going to be a good time,” Henson says. “I remember having an out of body experience when I first worked with all the guys. I walked up and I was like, ‘Damn, I’ve been busy. I’ve worked with pretty much everybody in this except for Sam.’ I had a pinch-me moment.”
The green room has filled up with more people, as stage managers and publicists start alerting the cast and producers that the festival’s closing night screening will be starting soon. She has time for one more question and Henson answers without skipping a beat.
So what is next?
Retirement.
Henson’s half joking as she’s in pre-production for several projects as an actress and producer. Also she assures me that she will be putting her Howard University theater degree to good use when her calendar frees up. “Broadway is always there. It’s just the timing. To give yourself like that to the theater, you have to have the time. And I just haven’t had the time. Don’t worry, it’s coming,” she says with a wink.
What is arriving sooner than later is her next entrepreneurial endeavor, but she cannot quite unveil all the details. Henson does offer this with a coy smile.
“When I think about my brand, I think about a care package. So the care package that I send you, it’s literally from head to toe. It’s everything. It’s the hair, it’s the body, books to read, stimulate your mind,” she says. “Now we’re going to add a little something to sip on.”
With Henson stepping behind the bar, we know whatever she’s mixing is going to be good.