Tyler Perry is once again on the list of The Hollywood Reporter’s 100 most powerful people in Hollywood. At #67, he finds himself 4 spots above last year’s standing and in good company, sandwiched between directors James Cameron (Titanic) and Chris Nolan (Dunkirk). A year chock-full of big announcements, big projects, and big box office, has predicated the climb up the prestigious list.
Now 46, Mr. Perry sits at the helm of a production juggernaut that has grossed over $650 million in global box office sales, and continues to put up numbers that are hard to comprehend when you consider Perry writes, directs, produces, and often acts in the work that bears his name. To date he has 945 episodes of TV, 18 features, and 20 stage productions… quite possibly the first Hollywood triple-double!
The past year also saw the purchase and rapid construction of Tyler Perry Studios on a decommissioned Army base in Atlanta, a project of immense proportion that will see the film and production lot become the largest in the eastern US, and should solidify his place on this list for years to come.
Perry tells THR that his son has taught him to always put family before work, that he wishes he could have sparred Kathy Griffin her now famous mistake, and that the current political climate has “reinvigorated my resolve to bring light and laughter and healing to this world.” A sentiment he echoed elegantly in his acceptance of the People’s Choice Humanitarian Award earlier this year.
Find the full list here.