In an interview Wednesday, Taraji P. Henson, 44, the star of Fox's hip-hop drama "Empire," talked about her role as Cookie, on-screen ex-husband and what kind of man she's looking for in real life.

On "Empire," Henson stars as the sassy Cookie Lyon, the ex-wife of hip-hop mogul Lucious Lyon, played by Terrence Howard. Cookie is newly released from prison after serving time for the drug charges that financed the creation of the hugely successful record label called Empire Entertainment.

"The thing about Cookie is that she's trying to fit back into a very new society," Henson told Entertainment Tonight. "Imagine you being tucked away for 17 years, no Internet, no kind of means to the outside world. Then you come out and there's cell phones ... we're almost The Jetsons!"

In a video clip shown to Henson during the interview, "Empire" creator and executive producer Lee Daniels declared her a "force of nature," while co-star Howard joked that she "owed him" for her role in the 2005 film "Hustle and Flow," the pair's first project together.

"I wouldn't owe Terrence anything, seeing as I'm the reason why he got [the role of] Lucious," Henson countered with a smirk. "If I didn't look out for him, we'd be going 'Terrence Howard, whatever happened to him?'"

While Cookie's on-screen love life is complicated, Henson's idea of love is not.

"I'm not past dating, I know what I want," Henson said. "... I want a man who is not caught up into what I do for a living. I'm not that girl on the screen, I am none of those characters; I am me. I need safety, somewhere to go where I don't have to be Hollywood. Where I can take my wig off and you're gonna love me and say 'Baby, you are beautiful.' I need a hero!"

"Empire" is not Henson's first taste of success as an actress. She starred as Yvette in "Baby Boy" (2001), Shug in "Hustle and Flow" (2005) and Queenie, alongside Brad Pitt, in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (2008). Her role as Queenie earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 2009. From 2011 to 2013, she co-starred in the CBS drama "Person of Interest."

Despite her successful acting career, Henson has previously stated that Hollywood has snubbed her.

"I'm treated like I'm on the D-list. I'm still being considered with actresses who haven't done half the stuff I've achieved," she told Ebony magazine in the October 2014 issue,

Henson may finally get Hollywood recognition thanks to her hit character Cookie on "Empire."

Warning: Spoilers from "Empire" follow.

In the last episode of "Empire," after Lucious left a rose on Cookie's doorstep for their anniversary last week, he asked her to dinner. Cookie frantically searched for the perfect outfit for what she thought would be their first date since divorce. She arrived to dinner wearing a fur coat and heels and was surprised to find her sons and their significant others at the dinner as well. Stunned when Lucious announces his new engagement to Empire Entertainment's A&R head Anika, Cookie revealed the lingerie under her fur coat and made a dramatic exit.

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