Awards Daily talks to three-time Emmy nominee Taraji P. Henson about playing Janine’s mother Vanetta on ABC’s Abbott Elementary.
While she’s known more for her dramatic work, in roles on Empire and even her Academy Award-nominated turn in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, when Taraji P. Henson arrived in California “twenty-some-odd” years ago, she really wanted to do comedy.
“I started off that way,” says Henson. “I did an episode or two of Smart Guy, Sister Sister. I started off doing these guest appearances on sitcoms, and then I booked Baby Boy, and it was all drama after that. So this is, like, full circle for me because this is actually why I moved out here, to be on a good sitcom. Plus, I was a substitute teacher before my career took off, so I have a special place in my heart for teachers.”
But even though Abbott Elementary is a comedy, Henson’s character, Vanetta, brings ALL the drama when she visits her daughter Janine (Quinta Brunson) out of the blue in the second season’s penultimate episode, “Mom.” As she did with Cookie on Empire, Henson has fun playing Vanetta, another “hot mess” of a character.
“If handled wrong, these characters could come off as caricatures. It’s my job as the actor to make people identify with them and see them as real women because they exist, and they need a voice. I think I’m pretty good at handling characters that can be stereotypical and just making them real. Because Cookie could have been a stereotypical, sassy black woman with no real substance, but I enjoy making people see these women as fully realized humans.”
While Vanetta couldn’t be more opposite from Janine, one character she does have a lot in common with is Ava (Janelle James).
“Ava says, ‘I think I know Janine’s mom; we danced on some of the same tables at the clubs.’ Clearly, these are women who don’t want to grow up. They’re stuck in the time warp of when they were younger.”
And like Ava, Vanetta often takes Janine for granted, ignoring her calls for six months before showing up to ask for money.
“Vanetta is one of those women who comes and goes, very busy chasing men or chasing herself. Then she has these moments where it’s like, ‘Oh, I am a Mom. I should check on my kid.’ Usually, it’s times when she needs something, which is unfortunate.”
But was Vanetta ashamed to ask her daughter for money? Maybe that’s why she ignored her calls.
“She was ashamed, but she still did it,” Henson says with a laugh. “She’s like, no shame, no game. I gotta get my phone back. She found herself in a desperate moment.”
In a teachers’ lounge confrontation with Barbara (Sheryl Lee Ralph), Vanetta says, “I’m her mother and I brought her into this world at [my expense].” It’s such a loaded statement. Does Henson have a backstory in mind for Vanetta?
“I just know she had children at a very young age from two different fathers. One was a drug dealer and one was an artist. So this seems to me like a woman who was always chasing love because maybe she didn’t love herself. She loves her children, but does she really understand what nurturing a child is? She’s trying to catch up on lost time from having kids. She probably left them with grandma one too many times. I could go on and on, but hopefully, prayerfully, I’m asked to come back to the show. I just had that one little window to bring this character to life, and who knows what [Quinta] has in store.”
Henson says she loved working with the tight-knit Abbott crew.
“It was a great group. I was welcomed with open arms. I felt like I knew everybody already. It was like family, and they welcomed me in and it was just beautiful. I had a great, great time.”
Deep down, despite her character’s actions, Henson believes that Vanetta is proud of her daughter and all her accomplishments.
“In spite of her mother’s lack of nurturing, [Janine’s] still made a career for herself. She’s doing good, probably better than [Vanetta], because she has to come to her for money.”
Abbott Elementary airs on ABC.
