Taraji P. Henson is a pro at juggling multiple projects.
The 54-year-old actress reveals to PEOPLE at the Special New York Screening of Tyler Perry’s Straw on Tuesday, June 3 that she filmed her new Netflix film in record time — while in the middle of shooting her Peacock true-crime limited series Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist.
“[While filming Straw], I was also at the time working on Fight Night,” Henson says, adding, “They worked it out with my schedule.”
“I went and shot this for four days and went right back to Fight Night,” she adds.
Tyler Perry, who wrote, produced and directed the film, says the whole Straw team came together to make sure that they captured the footage they needed for the film within Henson’s short window of time.
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“It’s a great team that we all know what to do,” he tells PEOPLE. “Taraji only had four days, so we figured it out in those four days.”
For Henson, who previously worked with Perry on the 2018 film Acrimony, she says it was a no-brainer when given the opportunity to work with the acclaimed filmmaker again, despite her busy schedule. She was especially tempted to portray such a complex role.
“He continues to challenge me and himself every time he sends me a script,” Henson explains at the screening. “He ups the ante every time. And I appreciate that because he knows I love a good challenge.”
Tyler Perry’s Straw follows Janiyah (Henson), a single mother whose “world unravels in chaos as her day goes from bad to worse to catastrophic as she struggles to care for her ill daughter,” according to a synopsis for the film. “Pushed to the brink by a world that seems indifferent to her existence, she’s forced to confront impossible choices in a society that offers her no safety net.”
Henson tells PEOPLE that she often gravitates toward characters that “scare the hell out of me,” and her character of Janiyah was no different.
“Janiyah did scare me a lot…,” she admits. “I was drawn to this character because I love giving a voice to the voiceless. I want anybody out there who identifies with Janiyah to know that they’re not alone and you are seeing and I see you.”
The movie also stars Teyana Taylor, Sherri Shepherd, Glynn Turman, Sinbad and Rockmond Dunbar.
