When Ta’Rhonda Jones ;went to a casting call for “Empire,” she thought she was auditioning to be a female rapper. She didn’t know who Lee Daniels was or that Taraji P. Henson was involved in the show. By the time she’d figured it out, she’d landed the part of Porsha. ; In preparation for the premiere of “Empire” Season 2, The Huffington Post spoke to Jones about learning that she’s a comedic genius, crafting her beloved character, and what’s in store for Porsha now that the Lyon family has returned. How did you get involved with “Empire”? ; It’s such a weird story. My brother put me in touch with the casting director Claire Simon and said they were looking for a rapper. She sent me an email with …
When Ta’Rhonda Jones ;went to a casting call for “Empire,” she thought she was auditioning to be a female rapper. She didn’t know who Lee Daniels was or that Taraji P. Henson was involved in the show. By the time she’d figured it out, she’d landed the part of Porsha. ;
In preparation for the premiere of “Empire” Season 2, The Huffington Post spoke to Jones about learning that she’s a comedic genius, crafting her beloved character, and what’s in store for Porsha now that the Lyon family has returned.
How did you get involved with “Empire”? ;
It’s such a weird story. My brother put me in touch with the casting director Claire Simon and said they were looking for a rapper. She sent me an email with lines, but I didn’t even look at them. I didn’t think I needed to. I thought I was going to rap.
I went in and Claire was like, “Do you remember your lines?” I was like, “What lines?! What are you talking about?” So, I asked if I could read them off my phone and just glanced over them real quick. I put the phone down and said, “Yeah, okay, I’m ready.” She said, “You sure?”
She stared at me after I read through and I thought I really messed up. She said, “You know what? I think I have something else in mind for you.” I thought that was her way of shoving me out the door. Then, that same day she emailed me about the Porsha role.
What was the Porsha audition like?
I don’t know why, but I still thought they wanted a rapper! At least this time I read over the lines. The next day I went in and they were just falling out of their seats because they thought I was so hilarious.
Now, mind you, I still don’t know exactly what I was auditioning for. I’m thinking I’m going to be a rapper. I didn’t even know who Lee Daniels was.
Wait, what do you mean you didn’t know who Lee Daniels was?!
I walked in the room and there was this man who was just so full of life. He was yelling, “Yaaas, yaaas honey! Yaaas!” I’m like, “Who is this crazy man?” I just thought he was someone else watching auditions.
He said, “You knew what you were doing when you came here looking like that.” I said, “What, this old thing? I got this out the closet. This is nothing.” He started laughing and said, “What’s your name?” I said, “My name is Porsha.” And he just fell, he started laughing and hollering, “Yaaas, honey, that’s what I’m talking about.”
Is that when you knew you got the part?
You know, I got a call from Claire, and she said, “I’m calling to tell you we’re keeping you in mind, but between you and me, Lee loved you.” ;So, I said, “Who’s Lee? That man in the room was Lee Daniels? It can’t be Lee Daniels!” Sure, enough, she told me it was him. I freaked out.
You just thought that was some flamboyant man?
I just thought he was some random old nut!
Oh my God. Okay, so, you figure out who Lee is, you get the part. How was Porsha described to you once you came on board?
You know, Porsha’s role was only supposed to last three episodes. She was supposed to be this snitch. There was no description really besides her being Cookie’s assistant, which by then I knew was Taraji, because I’d watched the trailer! But, yeah, it was very brief.
I’m observant and that helped. When I did the first scene, I watched Taraji, and she would toss in lines that weren’t in the script. I thought, “Maybe I could do that.” So, when it came to my turn to recite my lines, I was just throwing stuff in. Everybody in the back had to keep calling cuts because they couldn’t stop laughing, and Lee was like, “Keep doing that!” ;
That’s amazing. Since you’ve had so much success with acting so far, do you think of yourself as an actor in addition to being a rapper?
Well, growing up, I always wanted to be some form of entertainer. People always thought I was funny. I always wanted to take a comedic path. You know, I think it’s acting, but it’s not. It just comes from the soul. It’s all me. I’m a lot like Porsha. Eighty-five percent of Porsha is in me and 85 percent of me is in Porsha.
Now that you’ve gotten to know Porsha so well, what do you think about her relationship with Cookie? They have such an interesting bond.
Oh, absolutely. Cookie’s loyalty to Porsha and Porsha’s loyalty to Cookie sets up crazy chemistry. They can’t let each other go. I don’t care how much crap Cookie gives Porsha, Porsha’s just willing to let it go. And no matter how much dumb crap Porsha does to Cookie, Cookie’s just like “Oh, she can’t help it. That’s still my assistant. I still love her.”
Do you think we’ll find out more about that? Can you share anything else about Season 2?
Right now, it’s still early in the season, so I’m dying to find out myself. I will say, there’s a lot of crazy stuff in there so far. Not just for Porsha, but for Cookie, for everybody on the show. I don’t want to give you too much! Just know that the show’s going to be bigger than last season.
This interview has been edited and condensed. ;
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Scream ‘Yaaas’ Like Lee Daniels Over Porsha’s ‘Empire’ Audition Story
