Apr 17, 2026 2:49pm PT

Taraji P. Henson Says ‘I Still Haven’t Booked a Franchise Film,’ but Tyrese ‘Booked Two’ After They Broke Out Together: ‘I’ve Been in the Game Almost 30 Years. No Franchise Film’

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Zack Sharf

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Gilbert Flores

Taraji P. Henson appeared on a recent episode of Hoda Kotb’s “Making Space” podcast (via People) and reflected on the moment she realized just how differently male and female actors are treated in Hollywood. The Oscar nominee got her movie breakthrough in John Singleton’s 2001 coming-of-age movie “Baby Boy,” which also happened to mark the feature film debut of Tyrese Gibson. But only one of them became a franchise star.

“That was huge for me. I was I was a female lead. I was new to Hollywood, and I just remember everybody coming to me going, ‘Oh my God, you’re gonna blow up. Do you understand what John Singleton does to people’s careers? Look at this person and this person,'” Henson remembered. “But I don’t know, discernment told me something different. And I just knew it wasn’t gonna be that way. Something sat on my heart, and it was like, ‘I don’t know that that’s gonna happen like that overnight for me.’ And so, sure enough… but I knew deep down it would for Tyrese.”

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Taraji P. Henson Says 'I Still Haven't Booked a Franchise Film,' but Tyrese 'Booked Two' After They Broke Out Together: 'I've Been in the Game Almost 30 Years. No Franchise Film'