The Story Behind ‘Empire’s’ Terence Howard And Taraji P. Henson’s Undeniable Chemistry

Dubbed as primetimes King and Queen, “Empire” stars Terence Howard and Taraji P. Henson are surely making history with the show beating its popular time slot competition, “The Amazing Race” and “Survivor.” The powerful duo recently scored the latest cover of Entertainment Weekly and revealed why the two never hooked up even with their undeniable chemistry.

“We’re like father and daughter, mother and son, brother and sister,” Howard told the publication in an interview posted on Essence. "We've never been lovers. When I was doing Hustle & Flow, I was like, ‘I know I'm playing this character right if all my female co-leads want to sleep with me.' Taraji was the only one that didn't want to."

Howard and Henson had a long history together and that’s the reason why the actress knew that “The Butler” star is perfect for the role of Lucious Lyon. Almost turning down a role of a lifetime, Henson cut a deal with the network to cast Howard as her leading man or she will not signed up at all.

The “Person of Interest” star admitted that it had to be Howard to play the “Empire’s” patriarch as the show features that “deep love that you can’t explain.” It’s the same “deep love” that she and Terence shared over the years and working together.

Meanwhile, the 45-year-old actor considered Henson as his wingman during his interview with The Root. He confessed that they both know and understand each other, and being with her reminds him of his aunt who is the funniest and wittiest, and the honest person he knows.

He felt that they’ve met in many different lifetimes as they could have been brother and sister, or father and daughter, or son and mother, or they could have been husband and wife. He said that she complimented and challenged him to be better as he tried to continue to challenge her.

“Empire” Season 1 continues to make headlines thanks to the show’s ensemble cast and the guest stars from Patti LaBelle, Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Hudson, Courtney Love, Snoop Dog, Rita Ora and Mary J. Blige. ‘Empire’ airs every Wednesday at 9 pm on Fox.

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