Five questions with Taraji P. Henson

Taraji P. Henson

One of the stars of Person of Interest, Henson says working on the show has been an eye-opening experience. The CBS crime drama, which airs at 8 p.m. Thursday, revels in surveillance-culture paranoia. As a result, Henson says, "Sometimes I speak in hushed tones in my own house." Henson, a 2009 Oscar nominee for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, reads scripts in which Big Brother is watching, then films episodes in New York City, where surveillance cameras are ever-present. "It makes you wonder," says Henson, who plays straight-arrow Detective Carter opposite rules-breaking Finch (Michael Emerson) and Reese (Jim Caviezel). "Our writers aren't just pulling this stuff out of the sky."

1 When did the show's subject matter start getting to you?

I have a laptop, the Apple, and it has iChat capabilities. I've never really iChatted. One time I was sitting on my bed and the light was green, which means the camera has been activated. Then I got a Person of Interest script. I was like, "What if some Finch character hacked into my computer?" Now, when I'm on my laptop, I cover the camera with a Post-it note.

2 Do you think our Big Brother culture is a bad thing?

I'm a good person and I know I'm not doing any dirt, so I'm not too troubled about it. Like, take my cellphone. It's got GPS, right? But I'm not worried about someone knowing my whereabouts. In fact, if something happened, if I got lost or if I passed out behind the wheel of my car, with the GPS activated, someone could find me and help me.

3 At first, Carter wanted to arrest Reese. Now she helps him. Do you prefer being part of his team?

I love being in on the action, so it's great for me as an actress. But it's always going to be tough for Carter, because she goes by the book. And everything Reese and Finch are doing, their motives are good, but they're constantly breaking the law. That challenges everything she's working to protect.

4 Was there a pivotal moment in your life that compelled you to be an actor?

When I was a kid, I would perform for my family. If two people were paying attention, I would sing a song or do a dance. But I almost didn't pursue it. I auditioned for a performing-arts high school in Washington, D.C., and didn't get accepted. I thought that meant I couldn't act. So when it came time to go to college, I enrolled to be an electrical engineer, which really wasn't where my heart was. Finally I got the courage to audition again and I got in at Howard University for acting. The rest is history.

5 You recently did an anti-fur/"I'd rather go naked" photo shoot for PETA. What prompted this?

I saw footage of what happens to animals that are bred for their fur and I couldn't take it. I don't know who could. A lot of people wearing fur is just people not knowing what happens to these animals and how they suffer. I don't think it's worth it just so you can look fly wearing a floor-length mink.

-- David Martindale, Special to the Star-Telegram