David Aldridge: What part of Southeast did you grow up in?Taraji P.

Henson: Livingston Road, and Friendship (Educational Center).

I went there for junior high, and Ballou (High School).

Then, I moved, we moved, to Oxon Hill - what was those apartments, they were right there, above from Eastover (Shopping Center), and they had the bay windows - I forgot what it was called.

But we lived there.

And then I finished high school at Oxon Hill, and then I went to North Carolina A&T for a year, then I came back and transferred back to Howard University.

And when I was there I was living on 40th Street, in Southeast.

Then I got my own apartment in Northwest, across from Clifton Terrace.

From there, I moved to Clinton for one year, and then I moved to L.

A.

And my dad's house is still in Clinton, and I still have a lot of family here.

DA: Well, I'm a Northeast kid.

TPH: My grandmother raised - my dad was a Washingtonian, born and raised.

So my mother was from the South.

But that was, like, his story.

'Cause that's rare from his generation.

Yeah, he was here.

Then my grandparents were Washingtonians, his parents.

So they had a house in Northeast Washington.

We just sold that.

DA: We grew up off of South Dakota Avenue.

My dad's still over there.

TPH: Good.

He held onto his property! That's right.

DA: He told all of us, 'don't leave; you'll never be able to get back in.

'TPH: And you don't want them new townhouses in the city; you want that brick.

DA: So, how did you prep for this role?TPH: Well, understanding her fight, that was easy, 'cause, you know, I'm a woman, a professional woman, in a business where men oftentimes get paid more.

So I understood that.

The sports aspect, I didn't get.

But, you know, I didn't really have to come up with stats or anything like that.

It's just, you know, her being around all these men, and fighting.

And, you know, I'm from the 'hood, so I know how to fight, So a lot of the things, even though I don't know much about sports, there are other aspects of the character that I could relate to, that I could bring to light.

DA: So, I can't ask you how to fix the Wizards, then?TPH: No, I'm sorry.

I can't help you there.

I wouldn't even know where to start.

DA: Are there parallels with agents in the film industry that you could take with this character?TPH: Oh, god, yeah.

I mean, like, you know, like, there were things, like myself and Adam (Shankman, the film's director), we were adamant about not making her success come from the validation of a man.

Like, her life is going all wonky-wonky, and all of a sudden she meets this man, and now, bing, her life is perfect, you know what I mean? 'Cause that's a fairy tale.

Look how long it took me to get engaged (to former NFL player Kelvin Hayden), Goddamnit.

So, yeah, absolutely, I think there's so many parallels that people will take, professional women.

Like, even with (Lisa) Leslie - did you see the film yet?DA: Yes, I did.

TPH: OK, so you know, Leslie, when it's time for her to do her (magazine) cover, all of a sudden, they want her to share the cover with a guy who' a rookie, like, 'you know what I've done in my career?' You know, I've had that happen to me before, in a situation where I'm in a film with a guy, and they'll give all the credit to the guy and pass me up, like I'm not Academy Award nominated.

You know what I mean? So, you know, I understood that.

And I think a lot of women will understand that.

The only thing I disconnected with her was her high amounts of testosterone.

She just operated like a guy.

The hometown girl went to Ballou High School and Howard University and says she can't do anything to fix the Wizards.

(Photos by Andre Chung)DA: Well, I was going to say, she was a ball buster when she needed to be, but she learned to modulate.

Was that something you had to learn?TPH: Yeah, because people, you know, you don't want to intimidate the guys.

The catch, the Catch-22 is, and what drives women crazy, is it's OK for guys to do it, but when we do it, we get labeled names, you know what I mean - a ball-busting bitch.

But, you know, it's like we're fighting because we're not getting what we feel like we deserve.

It's not like we're trying to be that.

What woman wants to do that? You know?DA: Covering sports for a living, especially basketball, the players get all the success, but then they get all the blame.

And most people are afraid of failure.

When you're starring in a movie, is it the same - it's all on me; I have to make this film great?TPH: I feel like that in any project that I'm either one or two on the call sheet.

Because there is a responsibility, you know what I mean? As we've seen with celebrities who go out here and are reckless in their personal lives, and it affects 300 people.

That's the cast, that's the crew.

Now, what we gonna do - Christmas is coming and I don't have a job, 'cause you out here.

And I don't think people really understand the responsibility that comes with that.

I do.

I've been waiting my entire career for these moments, and I'm clear on what that means, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, absolutely.

But because I know that, I don't feel the pressure.

Because I know that, you know, I understand it, so I move like that.

I move like I understand you know?DA: You've spoken often, and in your book, about your professors at Howard - the Al Freemans and such - who helped you hone your craft.

I wonder what those years were like for you, in terms of really falling in love with this as a profession, and something you could do for a living.

TPH: I mean, they created such an atmosphere where you could fall in love.

We had professionals who went out in the world, and did things that we could look at and go, 'wow, they did that.

' And they're coming back and sharing how, their magic with us.

We had alumni go off and do it, and not just our professors, who were professionals in the industry, but also our peers who went off and did it - the ones who were before me, from the music on down.

We had so many people to look up to, and so many people to try to strive to be like.

And by the time I got it, I started seeing my peers, walking the halls, and I'm going to see 'Tales from the Hood,' and I'm like, 'hey, that's so and so!' It was just a time.

I hope that's what I'm doing for the kids, you know what I mean? But, yeah, just the legacy and the pride that was in the hallways of Howard.

It was just something I'm glad I experienced.

I'm serious.

I mean, because, I had a chance to be anything, anything on that stage.

Where, in another school, I probably would have been the maid, or whatever - the 'black character.

' And, so, I was fearless.

And you had to work hard, because everybody was beautiful.

If you were talented, you were beautiful.

They didn't care about your weight, they didn't care about your hair, the color of your skin - can you hit this mark and fill this space and make these people have a cathartic moment? And, I mean, it developed a tough skin for me, 'cause I've been replaced before, and that ain't fun.

DA: You said in your book that your mom was courageous, in so many ways.

TPH: Yeah.

DA: What did you learn from her?TPH: To not let life cripple you, you know what I mean? To not let life cripple you, no matter how ugly obstacles can be sometimes.

Or, detours and U-turns, no matter how they come at you, curve balls - to not get bitter.

Never become bitter.

DA: And your dad had many jobs, but he worked at RFK Stadium for a while.

TPH: Yeah, he did.

DA: When I was a kid, when you got a ticket to the football game there, that was like found gold.

TPH: I'll never forget.

My dad was so real.

He took me to a Redskins-Dallas Cowboys game one time.

And I remember, I had this sign, and I wore this sign proudly, and I forgot I was 7 or 8.

But you've got to remember, I also talked my father into taking me to see 'Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip' at the age of 9.

So I'm walking around the stadium with a sign, and boots, with a cowboy hat sitting on the boots.

And it says 'Redskins, Kick the Shit out of the Cowboys.

' And I'm walking around proudly, in my little snow suit.

And my daddy's like, 'come on!' He gave me the sign! And I saw somebody go, 'ohhh.

' 'Cause back then we didn't have Instagram.

So I didn't even realize that the sign was bad, till somebody said 'ohhh.

' And then I was like, maybe I shouldn't be here with this.

DA: I worked at Turner for 14 years before I took this job, so I worked with Shaq there for years, and I covered him for 15 years before that when he was a player.

And Shaq's the biggest 13-year-old in the world.

TPH: That's what you love about him, though.

What's not to love about him?DA: What was it like working with him, and Grant (Hill), and (Mark) Cuban?TPH: I know Shaq.

He is just always, consistently, Shaq.

Just a jolly guy, sees the best in life.

Talk about not getting bitter at anything, you know what I mean? He's had a lot of curve balls thrown at him.

People say the most horrible things about him, and look at him.

He always has the last laugh.

DA: And he's always on TV.

TPH: Yes, he is.

He built his empire.

Say what you want to say.

DA: Nice, working "Empire" in.

You're good at this.

"What Men Want" opens nationwide in theaters on Friday, Feb.

8.

(Top photo of Taraji P.

Henson: By Andre Chung).