Taraji P. Henson was, is and always will be a woman of the people. She may be globally known these days as
Empire's foul-mouthed matriarch Cookie, but Taraji’s still fangirling over the memory her craziest awards show night ever, which involved some of the film industry’s starriest names. Ahead of this weekend’s
Emmy Awards (airing Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CTV), she stopped by
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to share some of those escapades. Namely, the time she had a seriously wild, and presumably rather tipsy, time with Angelina Jolie.It turns out, in 2009, the year of her Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination for
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Taraji found herself sat front row at the ceremony alongside her mother, co-star Brad Pitt, and Miss Jolie herself. To pass the time (and presumably calm Henson's nerves) during the long commercial breaks, Angelina would apparently grab Taraji by the hand, and run her to the bar for a shot. And given the Oscars’ notoriously long run-time, we’re guessing it was more than one or two drinks.
Try as she might to pretend like she totally belonged, Taraji admitted she couldn’t help but feel like any of us would have—proclaiming "Oh my god!" on the inside, all the while keeping a cool exterior. Those acting skills are no joke."You know those moments when you got in behind the velvet rope and you’re like ‘Yeah, I know I belong here, but god I feel like, 'Whoa!'" she said, adding it was "one for the books, definitely." And seriously, who could blame her?!The Angie shots certainly weren't the last time Taraji was bewildered by a celeb encounter, either. She also told a story from around the time she was cast opposite Jaden Smith for his film debut as
The Karate Kid in 2010.
She was invited to the famously large Pinkett-Smith family ranch to run lines with the youngster and was understandably awestruck by the grand lifestyle of the clan who enjoy a full staff waiting on them hand and foot.Saying it was again "one of those moments where you try to act normal," Taraji soon came to adore the family, and channeled all of us when she secretly hoped they would adopt her. But seriously—they obviously have the space.It may be worlds away for most of us, but for the rich and famous, homemade lobster for lunch is all but a day in the life.
