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Taraji P. Henson is getting vulnerable about a hard time in her life while she was shooting the 2016 film \u201cHidden Figures.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Howard University alum, known for her roles in \u201cThe Color Purple\u201d and the FX drama \u201cEmpire,\u201d has worked to build a notable career. But the journey has sometimes been painful \u2014 as she revealed <\/span>on Tuesday\u2019s episode<\/a> of the podcast \u201cLegacy Talk With Lena Waithe.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n In the episode, Waithe asks Henson how she felt delivering a pivotal monologue in \u201cHidden Figures\u201d in which, as mathematician Katherine Goble Johnson, she <\/span>explains to a supervisor played by Kevin Costner that her \u201clong breaks\u201d at work are caused by having to use a far-away segregated bathroom. Her character revealed how racism directly affected her ability to perform.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHonestly, I was going through something very tragic in my life. A loved one of mine was suffering, and we were trying to keep them alive,\u201d Henson revealed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n At the time, the actor said, she\u2019d instructed her makeup artist to \u201ckeep them on the line\u201d and to \u201cnot let them hang up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI said, \u2018And we have to figure out if we call 911, if the cops show up, they might shoot them. We want the paramedics to show up,\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cSo, I\u2019m dealing with that. I\u2019m running down the hall \u2019cause I\u2019m trying to be out of earshot so no one hears. So I\u2019m running down the hall in between takes to keep the person on the phone, and I\u2019m running back to do the scene. This is going on that entire scene.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Henson described filming the monologue as an out-of-body experience shaped by the emotional stress she was under. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI was present. I did it. And then as soon as they yelled \u2018cut,\u2019 I was running back down the hall,\u201d Henson recalled.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n 20 Years Of<\/span>Free<\/span>Journalism<\/span><\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n Your Support Fuels Our Mission<\/p>\n