The "Empire" cast and producers all gathered on the stage at Carnegie Hall in New York on Saturday to screen the season two premiere and to spill a few secrets about their successful first season.
Co-creator Lee Daniels stressed throughout the night his appreciation for Fox Television Group chairman-CEOs Dana Walden and Gary Newman who took a big risk putting his show on network television. Taraji P. Henson is still shocked she can say and do all the things her character has done, especially beating her TV son Bryshere "Yazz" Gray with a broom in the pilot.
Headlines & Global News was in the packed audience to hear what everyone in the cast thought of their characters and the ground-breaking show.
- Henson praised the show for portraying a family, led by her and Terrence Howard's Cookie and Lucious Lyon, that has broken the cycle of poverty with their three sons.
"Anybody from the 'hood knows that is very hard to do. [Lucious and Cookie] are heroes in a very American way," she said.
- Henson and Howard really act like an old married couple.
Luckily, they had their marriage counselor, Lee Daniels, on hand anytime their bickering got out of hand. They also beamed like proud parents when introducing their TV sons Jussie Smollett and Yazz's for their final performances.
- Jussie Smollett gave a little a cappella performance.
After Henson and Daniels revealed that Smollett auditioned for Jamal Lyon by singing "Blurred Lines" a cappella, the crowd demanded a repeat performance. Smollett did not disappoint.
- Trae Byers is honored to shine a spotlight on bipolar disorder with Andre Lyon.
His TV wife Kaitlin Doubleday (Rhonda) also expressed her gratitude for getting to play his wife and showing their relationship as he struggles with that condition.
- Doubleday has no problem being the only white actor in the main cast.
She was just happy to not play the stereotypical blonde woman who "f-ks" the hot guy. Co-creator Danny Strong jumped in to say Andre and Rhonda probably have the most stable relationship on the show (despite killing a guy, of course).
- Grace Gealey reveals a significant scene for her character was cut from the pilot.
Anika defended Jamal and his homosexuality to his father Lucious, but it was ultimately cut.
- Gabourey Sidibe's character Becky was originally described as a "boyish petite white woman."
Daniels instead cast the star of his 2009 film "Precious" and made sure to make Becky "fly," opposite of how she looked in "Precious." Gabby praised Daniels as the first person to see her skin color, body type and talent and say, "That will work."
- Ta'Rhonda Jones, who plays Cookie's assistant Porsha, originally thought she was auditioning as a rapper.
When she did get the part in "Empire," she still had to choose whether to take it or accept a more stable position. A sign from above helped her make the decision when the alarm on her late brother's watch started to go off shortly after asking Jesus if she should take the acting gig.
SPOILER ALERT: In the season two premiere, Henson's Cookie gives a scathing speech on the state of mass incarceration in the United States.
She joked that she didn't want to end up on some FBI watch list. Daniels also said that the show will not back down from such hot button issues.
"Where we are in America with race relations is an ugly place," he said. "It's time we tear the roof of this motherf-----r. It's time we see that we are all one."
"Empire" returns on Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 9 p.m. on Fox.
