Terrence Dashon Howard

“I’ve made some discoveries in my own personal life with the science that, y’know, Pythagoras was searching for,” he told a very confused interviewer. “I was able to open up the flower of life properly and find the real wave conjugations we’ve been looking for for 10,000 years.”

It could have ended there, but then, Howard got down to the science:

“All energy in the universe is expressed in motion, all motion is expressed in waves, all waves are curves, so where does the straight lines come from to make the Platonic solids? There are no straight lines. So when I took the flower of life and opened it properly, I found whole new wave conjugations that expose the in-between spaces. It’s the thing that holds us all together.”

Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films Dead Presidents and Mr. Holland’s Opus, Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema roles between 2004 and 2006. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Hustle & Flow.

Howard has had prominent roles in many other movies, including Winnie Mandela, Ray, Lackawanna Blues, Crash, Four Brothers, Big Momma’s House, Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Idlewild, Biker Boyz, August Rush, The Brave One, and Prisoners. Howard played James “Rhodey” Rhodes in the first Iron Man film. He starred as the lead character Lucious Lyon in the television series Empire. His debut album, Shine Through It, was released in September 2008. In December 2022, he announced that he planned to retire from acting.^[2]

Early life

Howard was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 11, 1969, to Tyrone and Anita (née Williams) Howard,^[3] who were both of African and English ancestry.^[4] His great-grandmother was actress Minnie Gentry. Howard was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, where he had a rocky childhood. He has claimed that he endured beatings from his physically abusive father,^{[citation needed]} and that he saw his father stabbing another man in the Santa Line Slaying when Terrence was two years old.^{[citation needed]} His father was convicted of manslaughter and served 11 months in jail.^{[citation needed]} Howard’s parents divorced upon his father’s release. He was raised by his great-grandmother. She died at the age of 77 in 1993.^[5]

Career

Howard first entered the entertainment industry in 1992 when he portrayed Jackie Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream, an ABC miniseries. Three years later, he made his big film break in 1995’s Mr. Holland’s Opus and Dead Presidents. He continued being cast in television and movie roles, and co-starred as Greg Sparks in the late-1990s short-lived television series Sparks, with James L. Avery Sr. and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. Howard also appeared in The Best Man (1999), in Ashanti‘s music video for her 2002 single “Foolish“, and in Mary J. Blige‘s video for “Be Without You“. Howard made an appearance on the TV series Family Matters.

Howard has said that he looks for characters that “teach him about himself” when choosing his film roles.^[6] For the 2005 film Hustle & Flow, Howard portrayed a pimp and aspiring rapper. He performed all the character’s tracks, including “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp“, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards. Howard has also worked as a film producer, as when he was credited for the 2007 film Pride. In 2008, Howard hosted the PBS series Independent Lens.

Howard was contracted to play Colonel James Rhodes in the 2008 film Iron Man. Howard was signed on before any of the other major actors and was the highest paid actor in the film. He was replaced by actor Don Cheadle in the film’s sequels. Entertainment Weekly reported that Howard was offered a 50 to 80 percent pay cut for Iron Man 2, though it said that it was unclear whether Howard turned down the role or whether Marvel withdrew their offer.^[7][8]

Howard released his debut adult alternative album, Shine Through It, in 2008 on Columbia/SME Records. He described the album as urban country, and either wrote or co-wrote all the songs on it.