Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry is an American actor, producer, director, screenwriter, playwright, author, and songwriter, specializing in the gospel genre. Perry wrote and produced many stage plays during the 1990s and early 2000s. In 2011, Forbes named him the highest paid man in entertainment; he earned US$130 million between May 2010 and 2011...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionTV Producer
Date of Birth13 September 1969
CityNew Orleans, LA
CountryUnited States of America
'Madea' is a Southern term. It's short for 'mother dear.' So there are a lot of Madeas out there.
My mother wasn't strong like my aunt. She was just very passive.
Children love their mothers. Especially with a boy child and his mother, there's a bond that's unbreakable.
My father who was there in the house, he wasn't at all a role model. And my mother, who was trying to protect me from him as best she could, she took me everywhere with her, which gave me a tremendous amount of sensitivity to the things women go through.
My mother was truly my saving grace, because she would take me to church with her. I would see my mother smiling in the choir, and I wanted to know this God that made her so happy. If I had not had that faith in my life, I don't know where I would be right now.
A mother's love is stronger than distance, more powerful than time and can transcend the grave.
I had one request when I started doing the plays. My prayer was: God let me do well enough to be able to take care of my mother. I was able to do that 'til the day she died because of my audience. So, they've already done enough. All I ask for now is their continued support.
What is important to me about this movie is that the stories and messages are for anyone. Anyone who needs to learn about forgiveness will enjoy it no matter who they are.
It's schizophrenic -- that's how I describe it. It's all over the place, man. It's joy, it's happy, it's sad, it's everything. It's just an emotional roller coaster, you know? Even the plays themselves, you come to see them and it's like a stand-up comedic routine. I'm breaking the wall. I'm talking to the audience. It's theater. It's some of everything. It's concert.
My first show was called 'I Know I've Been Changed' in '92. I tried to do this show for years and years. It kept failing over and over and over again. Every time I went out to do the show, nobody showed up. I was like, 'What is this about?'
You don't try to do anything that Morgan Freeman does. He was the voice of God in a movie. That's Morgan Freeman!
My life has always been - there's never been a middle. Either I had or I didn't. Either I was up or I was down.
I want a lot of people to see my movies. More black people. More white people. I want to make that connection.
As I experience life and go through things, that's what I write about.