“Empire” returns to Fox in just under a month, and Season 2 will be filled with more backstabbing, power plays, great music and romance.
Cookie’s Season 2 potential love interest is set to be played by “Magic Mike’s” Adam Rodriguez, and Emmy nominee Taraji P. Henson, who plays the character, had some influence in bringing him onboard.
“I remember Lee [Daniels, ‘Empire’s’ co-creator] calling me saying, ‘What about Adam Rodriguez?’ And I was like, ‘Hire him. Right away. Yes. Absolutely.’ And plus, you know, he’s a good friend of mine. We’ve already worked together,” Taraji told Access Hollywood’s Liz Hernandez on the “Empire” set over the weekend, referring to her film with Adam, “I Can Do Bad All By Myself.”
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“He’s a great guy too,” she added.
On “Empire,” Cookie is a larger than life character with a wild style. While some of the character’s early outfits came out of Taraji’s own closet, Season 2 has seen designers reaching out to help outfit her character.
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“We have [the] Moschino 2016 line already, like straight from Italy. People get it. … And thank God I’ve been working out, so I can wear the sample sizes,” Taraji laughed. “But yeah, it’s just interesting. It’s interesting because, you know, all of a sudden now I’m a fashion icon. Cookie did it, ’cause I’ve been around. I’ve been doing this for almost 20 years, and it took me 20 years to make it, but woo! Now I’m a fashion icon.”
There has been a huge response to Taraji’s character since the show debuted, and fans often come up to her with praise about seeing a woman like Cookie on television.
“I have a lot of women come up to me and say, ‘God, thank you so much for Cookie. You have given women a voice.’ Like who thought Cookie, this crazy woman who went to jail for 17 years and beat her son with a broom, and called one of her gay sons — she dropped the f-bomb — like who thought she would be a hero? But then, I understand why women say that because, you know, in society, we’re not allowed to speak our minds.
“We’re just supposed to be pretty and take it and Cookie doesn’t,” Taraji continued. “She says exactly what is on her mind and a lot of times she’s right. Most of the time she’s right.”
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“Empire” returns September 23 at 9 PM ET/PT on Fox.
— Jolie Lash
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