During an Oscar campaign, the phone never stops. There are meetings, events, calls, and interviews. Taraji P. Henson says she experienced that constant motion for months after her Oscar nomination for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Then the Oscars ended, and everything stopped. No calls. No invites. No new jobs. She had made just $150,000 from the movie. After taxes and her team’s cut (30%) much less was left. She had also spent five months filming with no other job, while her son’s school cost $30,000 a year. Then Tyler Perry called. He offered her the lead role in "I Can Do Bad All By Myself." Some people on her team asked why she would do a Tyler Perry movie after an Oscar nomination. Her answer was very clear: Nobody else had offered her a lead role. Tyler Perry also told her to ask for more money. She has said she did not even know what her worth was. The check was $500,000. She has called it the first time Hollywood paid her fairly. The bigger lesson is simple: sometimes the person who gives you your next big chance may come from a place others told you to avoid. #1official

During an Oscar campaign, the phone never stops. There are meetings, events, calls, and interviews. Taraji P. Henson says she experienced that constant motion for months after her Oscar nomination for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button." Then the Oscars ended, and everything stopped. No calls. No invites. No new jobs. She had made just $150,000 from the movie. After taxes and her team’s cut (30%) much less was left. She had also spent five months filming with no other job, while her son’s school cost $30,000 a year. Then Tyler Perry called. He offered her the lead role in "I Can Do Bad All By Myself." Some people on her team asked why she would do a Tyler Perry movie after an Oscar nomination. Her answer was very clear: Nobody else had offered her a lead role. Tyler Perry also told her to ask for more money. She has said she did not even know what her worth was. The check was $500,000. She has called it the first time Hollywood paid her fairly. The bigger lesson is simple: sometimes the person who gives you your next big chance may come from a place others told you to avoid. #1official