THR cover star and 'One Battle After Another' actress Teyana Taylor opens up about what fuels her creatively, her nearly two decades in the spotlight, being a mom and much more.
00:00Hello y'all, it's your girl Tiana Taylor and welcome to my Hollywood Reporter Covershoot.
00:13I think being in the game for so long, some people like prejudge you, like some people can't take you away from how they met you.
00:20So it's kind of like you're 15 forever, you know what I'm saying?
00:23Like I kind of like when people come from different places and like, oh, this is my first thing, this is my first thing.
00:28And then they like, they go down a rabbit hole like, I didn't know she did this much, you know what I'm saying?
00:32Some people just stuck in the, whoever this, this era of Tiana is, I'm okay here, you know what I'm saying?
00:39But I kind of like a good rabbit hole situation where they get to learn new things about me and, you know, different things like that.
00:46So I love that.
00:46I feel like since I was a young girl, I've always been like a busybody, you know, but in like in the best way though.
01:00Like I walk around looking for something to creative direct.
01:03So I would like walk down, like walk in my neighborhood and might see a dance group dancing like, hmm, I think this should go like this.
01:10And then we should go, bam, bam, bam, you know, and then like walk off.
01:14Like it wasn't even about credit.
01:15It wasn't about nothing else.
01:16Like I've always been like a helper, just always indulging in everything.
01:20And it's like, even just in school, I was always a visual learner.
01:23I wanted to sing it out.
01:24I wanted to rap it out.
01:25I wanted to draw it out.
01:26I wanted to, you know, talk it out.
01:28Like I've just always, it's not even like a time that was like, it happened and I was like, oh, I'm a creative.
01:33Like it's just always been me.
01:35Like it fills me up, you know, like I feel full when I'm creating.
01:40I think sometimes when I'm like sitting too still, it's just like, like when I'm too, I don't ever want to be stagnant.
01:45You know what I'm saying?
01:46Like when I, when I get too still, it's like, I got to do something.
01:49So it's like, we'll be so busy and have all these creative things going on.
01:52It's like, oh, I'm tired.
01:52I need a break.
01:53As soon as you get a break, it's like, my Lord, let's go to studio.
01:57Let's go cook.
01:58Let's go bake.
01:59You know, like I'm just, I always have to do something.
02:08What part of your regular life makes you feel like you're fighting one battle after another?
02:15I mean, trying to get my kids up for school in the morning is like fighting one battle after another because then it's like, okay, they're finally up.
02:22Now if I run downstairs and get this lunch bag right now, am I going to come back up and Ru's going to be back in the bed and then Junie's going to be on the toilet, but then she's going to be asleep on the toilet.
02:34And then it's like, just trying to figure it out.
02:36You know, it's literally one battle after another.
02:38What would your revolutionary nickname be?
02:47Perfidia, Harlem Hills.
02:50Hmm.
02:52Because we don't have like little mountains in Harlem, but we got, we got some crazy hills.
02:55You know, we got, we got something called Skrillet Hill in Harlem.
02:58You know what I'm saying?
02:59So we have, we have some blocks in Harlem where there's no getting by the hill.
03:03Like I remember one time I tried to go up Skrillet Hill.
03:05I'm like, you know, I'm going to go around the corner.
03:06It was another hill going up.
03:07Like, it's just no way to get to Skrillet Hill.
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