Taraji P. Henson used baby voice to turn Terrence Howard off in Empire sex scenes

Oscar nominee Taraji P. Henson put on a child's voice whenever she had to get intimate with her Empire co-star Terrence Howard in a bid to stop him from becoming aroused on set.

The stars play divorced couple Lucious and Cookie Lyon on Lee Daniels' hit hip-hop drama series and the storyline for the first season called for the actors to shoot love scenes together.

Henson reveals the two friends, who previously worked together on Hustle & Flow, took extra measures to make sure the steamy scenes didn't become uncomfortable for either of them.

She tells New York radio personality Angie Martinez, "You have to keep them (love scenes) professional. They (men) can't help if they get aroused.

"Every time we lay there (in bed), he kept talking to his little male member... Every time he would get on top of me I would say (in a baby voice), 'Daddy, why are you on top of me? Where is Mommy? Why is the door closed?' And it worked!"

Empire has taken audiences by storm since its debut in January (15) and Henson claims fans of the show, which wrapped its first run on Wednesday (18Mar15), mob her whenever she's out in New York City.

She says, "Cookie's stolen my life... It's crazy 'cause I've been here. It goes to show all my hard work has paid off. I'm no longer Taraji... I'm Cookie. It's overwhelming."