Empire's blend of soapy family infighting and melodrama, all set to a Timbaland-produced soundtrack, has quickly made the Fox series a record-smashing juggernaut. But beneath the show's undeniable entertainment value is a strategically subversive undercurrent, which is not surprising, considering that Lee Daniels (The Butler, Monster's Ball, Precious) is its creator. At the center of that element is the Lyon dynasty's arguably most talented but ostracized son, Jamal, played by the hypercharismatic Jussie Smollett. We sat down with the actor and singer at our La studio recently to talk about why he hopes characters like Jamal become "ordinary" on TV and the brutally honest, sometimes painful conversations he and Daniels have about how the series portrays homophobia. We also chatted about Taraji P. Henson's ferociously fur-clad Cookie (of course) and the upcoming duet with a music legend that brought Smollett to tears. Watch part of our interview below, and...
- 2/25/2015
- by Lindsay-Miller
- Popsugar.com
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