On the Monday, April 3 edition of “Tamron Hall,” multi-talented actress Teyana Taylor joins Tamron to discuss her powerful role in the critically acclaimed film, “A Thousand and One” which is already getting Oscar buzz in the first few days of its release. Taylor also addresses rumors about her taking on the role of Dionne Warwick in her biopic, opens up about being a mother to her two daughters, Junie and Rue, and shares how she and her husband, actor Iman Shumpert remain so low-key despite their high-profile lives. More inside and video clip…
Teyana Taylor on rumors that she will be depicting Dionne Warwick in her biopic:
“Yeah, we’re already working on it…We’re in the building process right now. I’ve always wanted to make sure like I could lock in with any person that I would be playing, you know? How Angela [Bassett] and Tina [Turner] was. How you know, Jamie Foxx and Ray Charles was. You know what I’m saying? Like to really get to know them and I miss when movies was like that…when you get to like, really know them and tap in.” She continued, “we [her and Dionne] talk almost every day. That’s my girl. Me, her and her son.”
Teyana Taylor on her role in her critically acclaimed new film and why being a mom is the biggest job:
Taylor on portraying Inez in “One Thousand and One,” “It was heavy, you know, it was really heavy because the movie was a real eye opener you know what I’m saying? Not just as a mom but also as a daughter, because like I was saying earlier, like, in this era, I was just little Terry’s age. I was six in [19]96, you know? So to have to go back and experience this as an adult like it was really eye opening for me because I’m like,’ wow, like my mom was a single mom and like those moments when I had those Terry questions -‘why? Why this? Why that? What happened to what’s her face? Why are you always working?’ Not understanding and really all the way appreciating the things that mothers do. You know? when I was first pregnant with Junie, that was when I first started really waking up like ‘oh, wow, like this is this is a real thing. This is a real job. This is the biggest job. no matter who you are, or what your status is like. Being a mom is the biggest job.“
Teyana on why she felt it was important to be part of this story and how she relates to her character:
“This is the type of woman that’s within all of us – this woman, you know? And that’s the thing – she’s fighting to be loved. She’s fighting to be protected. She’s fighting for her voice to be heard. What does that sound like? A Black woman. You know what I’m saying? That’s exactly what’s going on here. And that’s why I felt like it was important to be a part of this story because there’s so many women like this around me. Even just me being in an industry feeling unheard, feeling unloved, feeling almost invisible, you know? So I can relate to Inez in so many, so many different ways. My grandmother can relate to Inez, my mom can relate to Inez, you get what I’m saying? We show up for everybody. We have strength for everybody and it’s praised. But we have strength for ourselves and show up for ourselves, it’s a problem. So it’s a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t.’”
Teyana on how her and her husband, actor Iman Shumpert remain so low-key despite their high-profile lives:
“Honestly, we love minding our business. For real. And my husband has his own podcast and with his podcast even like – he’s so intelligent and he’s very opinionated and I’ll be like ‘don’t get in that. Mind your business. Don’t get in that.’ It’s such a sensitive time right now where anything you say or do will be used or held against you and I ain’t got time for that. I love being unproblematic. I love staying to my family. I love staying to myself. I don’t get into people’s business. I don’t care to get into their business. Keep us out of the group chat.”
