Taraji P. Henson Gets Candid About the Low Fees Some Studios Offer Her for Roles

Taraji P. Henson is on the latest cover of PorterEdit, out now.

Here’s what the 48-year-old Empire actress had to say…

On being denied the $500,000 fee for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, despite her co-stars reportedly earning tens of millions: “I didn’t even ask for one million. But I had to see the bigger picture and bite that bullet. I knew that if I kept my ego in check I would get the victory. That performance was undeniable. I turned in an Academy-worthy f–king performance. And what did they say? ‘We shoulda paid her.’”

On the low fees that some studios still offer her for roles: “‘They wanna pay what? Honey, a zero is missing. Tell them to go find it then call me back.’ If you come to Taraji P. Henson, you need to come with that money, because I earned it.”

On wanting to leave TV show Empire on a high: “Like Sex and the City – I wanna go out on top.”

For more from Taraji, visit net-a-porter.com.