

And this woman was poor so you don’t have to have a lot of money to make change. I did the research so I knew what she stood for. And then the school burns down and then it becomes about integrating the schools. She worked at Operation Breakthrough and she was an activist for her community.

The film started with her fighting a slumlord. What did you learn about her in researching the role?

Henson (RIGHT) stars in THE BEST OF ENEMIES. And the first day when I walked in my trailer and I came out, he was like, “Who are you?” Taraji P. A security guy who I just hired in Boston when I was on Proud Mary came down right after that and he wasn’t used to seeing me as Ann. I need that.” I needed the boobs to be heavy is because I needed to walk differently. Once I put that suit on and that wig on, it was just like instant Ann. I was like, “No, you need to call Tyler Perry and ask him how Madea’s boobs are made. So the wardrobe people made me a prosthetic suit and when I came down to Atlanta to try it on the boobs look like they were my size. I couldn’t gain the weight because I was just coming from Proud Mary, and right after Best of Enemies I had to fly right back to be Cookie, so there was no time for me to organically gain the weight-which I would have enjoyed. I knew that this was a woman who moved with purpose, a woman who was rooted in the Earth. Taraji, we can see so much of Ann’s life and personality in her posture and the way she walks, and it is very different from what we’ve seen in your other films. Henson, who plays Ann, writer/director Robin Bissell, and producer Dominique Telson talked about bringing this potent true story to the screen. In an interview with The Credits, star Taraji P. Ellis who were forced to work together in a fight over school desegregation in 1971. The Best of Enemies is based on the true story of an African-American activist named Ann Atwater and a KKK official named C.P.
