Being famous isn't a piece of cake. It can rob you of privacy in the middle of a crowd, says 'Empire' star Taraji P. Henson.
Playing Cookie on that hit film hasn't been good to her personal life, admits the hot cookie. The toughest part of her work is not what she does before the camera, but after she emerges from its eye and hits the road.
Taraji regrets that she cannot even walk on the road without getting recognised by everyone out there.
She was a famous actress even before playing Cookie Lyon in 'Empire'. But after that, she soon became a household name on everyone's lips. As she is thought to be among the "most explosive characters" on TV, due to her deadly wardrobe and tough persona, Taraji has certainly not seen the kind of privacy that she would like to have. The Cookie character has really ruined her privacy, she acknowledges.
To actor Ryan Reynolds for an 'Actors on Actors' chat hosted by Variety, Taraji confesses that she cannot perform simple acts anymore without getting surrounded by a number of fans. All her fans think that she is like 'Empire's' Cookie, but she does not believe that there is anything in her that shares traits with Cookie.
Taraji said, "You're walking down the street and they're just like, 'Hey Cookie' - maybe I didn't want the world to see how I looked today, maybe I wore these sweats yesterday. It was fine until Cookie came, I was okay under the radar, I could go to Target. I never saw that coming. I go from this normal life to having to find a house on a private gated road, it's crazy."
At times, she even dons a wig and sunglasses just so that no one would recognise her. Due to the number of changes that she has made in her private life, Taraji is convinced that her life has changed forever.
Actor Ryan Reynolds said that it is the price that Hollywood stars have to pay for being out in public. But Taraji is convinced that it is something "she just doesn't feel comfortable with."
