Taraji P. Henson and I have something in common, and it has nothing to do with the movies.Taraji, which means "hope" in Swahili, recently broke out on the big screen in the films "Hustle & Flow" and "Talk to Me." On December 25th she opened her biggest movie yet, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," alongside Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.
She plays a woman running a New Orleans retirement home, who finds a newborn baby on its front steps. Upon unraveling the swaddle, she discovers Benjamin Button, a infant with the look and feel of a 90 year old man. Taraji takes on the role of Benjamin's mother, which is no easy task. As he ages he gets younger, while the rest of the world withers away in front of his eyes.
But back to our commonality which, again, has nothing to do with the movies. Both Taraji and I are huge fans of garage sales.
"I love a good garage sale," she told me when she came through Chicago.
In fact, Taraji was gearing up for another big sale at her Los Angeles home when her agent called.
"I'm planning my garage sale and I get a call, 'You're going to meet director David Fincher,'" Taraji explained. "I'm like, what are you talking about?! I have a garage sale! It's Saturday! Don't people take a break?!"
There's just something to a garage sale that is so exciting. I explained to Taraji that I grew up in the Timbercrest neighborhood in Schaumburg. Every year on the first weekend of June, dozens of homes open their garages to sell off their useless junk. The event draws hundreds, if not thousands, of shoppers on an annual basis. I could sympathize with Taraji's frustration when she had to cancel her big day for another, well, big day.
"I get there and there's nobody there. It's me, Fincher, and the casting director," she recalled, before obviously getting the part.
"Are there any regrets about missing the garage sale," I asked, to which I received a quick reply.
"No, I just put it off until Sunday."
After screening "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," it's clear that Taraji made the right choice by cancelling her Saturday plans, although I do see more yard sales in her future. She might need to clear off some space on that award shelf - she's currently a frontrunner to land an Academy Award in the Best Supporting Actress category.
"Are you voting?" she asked me, hopefully.
Unfortunately, we garage salers don't often get the chance to hand out the Oscars. But if I had the chance, she might get my vote.
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