Throughout her acting career, Taraji P. Henson has had the honor of appearing in films alongside stars like Brad Pitt and has made guest appearances on popular television series including, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.” But despite playing in Hollywood’s big leagues, the Academy Award-nominated actress is still very selective prior to signing on for a project — no matter how impressive the budget might be.

On Monday, while promoting her upcoming suspense-thriller, “No Good Deed,” Henson appeared on HuffPost Live where she explained why she will never shy away from starring in independent films.

“It’s never about the money for me. It’s about the craft of acting, and that’s what I love to do,” she admitted to HuffPost Live host Marc Lamont Hill. “I figure if I keep proving how good I am the money will come. And that’s actually what has been happening in my career. It doesn’t matter if it’s a low budget, an independent, I will still do an independent film today. Because to me those are the most exciting roles, the most challenging, because they’re not the Hollywood wrapped up, sewed up at the end, all perfect endings. So I really lean, still, towards the films that don’t have big budgets.”

To underscore her comment, Henson also added why she’s often misunderstood by Hollywood executives when auditioning for a for a role. “I don’t think a lot of the executives get me. And I think a lot of times studios, they don’t know or really realize that I actually have a box office draw… they’ll see.”

Check out more of Taraji P. Henson’s HuffPost Live segment in the clip above.