At one point in his career, actor Terrence Howard was on the verge of giving up. Tired of getting offers for stereotypical African-American parts – pimps and street thugs being most prevalent – Howard was ready to quit the craft he toiled in for most of his adult life. But a star-making turn in “The Best Man” (1999), directed by Malcolm Lee – cousin to Spike – brought the actor back from the abyss and into prominence. Prior to the middling success of that urban drama, Howard was in a pit of despair – his wife had divorced him and he was “minutes away from suicide,” according to The New York Times. The boost he got from “The Best Man” not only set the stage for bigger and better roles, but also helped put him on the path to reconciling his personal life.
Born in Chicago, IL on Mar. 11, 1969 and raised in Cleveland, OH, Howard experienced prejudice at an early age. At 3, Howard went to a department store with his family to see Santa Claus. His mother, who was wandering around the store, had joined them in line. His dad, being lighter-skinned to the point of appearing white, was accused by Caucasians behind him for allowing “black people” to cut the line. His father declared that the woman was his wife and was content on leaving it at that. But a larger man instigated a fight and started choking Howard’s dad. In self defense, his father grabbed hold of a knife and stabbed his attacker. The man died and his dad went to jail for manslaughter, leaving Howard to grow up without the benefit of being raised by his father.
At 19, Howard moved to New York City to become an actor. With no experience and little training, he began hustling his way through auditions, landing a few commercial gigs before pulling off a coup: conning his way onto “The Cosby Show” (NBC, 1984-1992) by submitting a headshot and resume with fake credits. The casting director hired him for an episode, but his scenes were significantly cut by Cosby. Full of righteous anger – and devoid of common sense – Howard banged on the star’s dressing room door and demanded satisfaction. An angry Cosby had him removed from the set and barred from ever returning. Howard’s foolish reaction nearly killed the young actor’s career before it began.
Howard managed to recover and landed a few guest spots on various shows throughout the early 1990’s, including “Family Matters” (ABC-CBS, 1989-1998), “Coach” (ABC, 1989-1997), “New York Undercover” (Fox, 1994-98) and “Living Single” (Fox, 1993-98). While pursuing his acting career, he earned a degree in chemical engineering at Pratt College – just in case he had any more confrontations with major celebrities. Meanwhile, he made his film debut with a bit part as a customer in the lame Ted Demme comedy, “Who’s the Man?” (1993), then followed up as the despicable Cowboy in Albert and Allen Hughes’ period saga, “Dead Presidents” (1995). Howard earned good notices for his role as a star high school athlete struggling to keep a beat with the marching band in the sugar-coated drama, “Mr. Holland’s Opus” (1996). After a couple small feature roles in “Johns” (1996) and “Sunset Park” (1996), Howard was given a regular gig on the UPN sitcom, “Sparks” (1996-98). The show was canceled after its second season.
After appearances in “The O.J. Simpson Story” (Fox, 1995), “Double Tap” (HBO, 1998) and “Butter” (HBO, 1998), he was in a couple episodes of “NYPD Blue” (ABC, 1993-2005). He was then seen on the big screen in “The Players Club” (1998), a comedy about the goings-on of an Atlanta strip club, starring Ice Cube in his directorial debut. Howard then appeared in “Spark” (1998), a psychological thriller about a black couple stranded in the southwestern desert. Only those frequenting the festival circuit managed to see it. The following year, Howard was seen in three features: “Valerie Flake,” a festival-bound drama about an emotionally-detached woman (Susan Traylor) who, after the death of her husband, embarks on a series of meaningless one-night stands; “Best Laid Plains,” a slick neo-noir about a blackmail scheme gone bad; and the aforementioned “Best Man,” about a group of friends whose lives have been turned into a book by one of their own.
In 2000, Howard played Cassius Clay in the ABC biopic, “Muhammad Ali: King of the World,” which followed “the Greatest” from his drubbing of Sonny Liston to being stripped of his title for refusing to serve in Vietnam. As the new millennium faded into memory, Howard seemed to concentrate more on film than on television. After appearing in the blockbuster comedy “Big Momma’s House” (2000), he was seen in the period romance, “Investigating Sex” (2001). A forgettable turn in the unfortunate “Angel Eyes” (2001) was trumped by an appearance in the cringe-inducing Mariah Carey vehicle, “Glitter” (2001). Howard soon returned to form with a touching performance in the World War II drama, “Hart’s War” (2002), playing a black officer held in a Nazi prison camp with white soldiers, at a time when segregation was still practiced by the U.S. Army.
Howard briefly returned to television, landing a couple of appearances on “Soul Food” (Showtime, 2000-04); an episode of the short-lived “Fastlane” (Fox, 2002-03); and a regular stint as the new head of the Special Offenders unit on “Street Time” (Showtime, 2002-04), a drama about parole officers and their parolees. Returning to features, Howard had a thankfully small part in the dreadful “Biker Boyz” (2003), before a memorable but brief role in the delightful “Ray” (2004), playing Ray Charles’ (Jamie Foxx) one-time guitarist, Gossie McKee. Then in “Crash” (2005), a hard-bitten drama about race relations in Los Angeles by writer-director Paul Haggis, Howard played a television director whose fear of challenging a police officer (Matt Dillon) when he molests his wife (Thandie Newton) leads to questioning his pride and what it means to be a black man in a white man’s world.
Howard earned good notices for his intense performance in “Crash” – as did the rest of the outstanding ensemble cast – but the best was soon to come. He earned near-hysterical acclaim and unrelenting Oscar buzz for his emotionally engaging performance as a pimp wanting to remake his life as a rapper in “Hustle & Flow” (2005), a heartfelt drama from producer John Singleton and writer-director Craig Brewster that won the Audience Award for Best Dramatic Feature at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Howard was beset by press for interviews, which he continued to do months after the festival lowered its tent poles. The film was scheduled for release in July 2005 and was expected to take home a significant share of box office dollars. Sadly, expectations for “Hustle & Flow” proved idealistic, as audiences failed to take the film into its warm embrace. But Howard was honored with major award nominations, including at the Golden Globes and Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor.
Later in 2005, Howard appeared to good effect in Singleton's revenge drama "Four Brothers" as a police detective who becomes embroiled in a quartet of grown foster children's efforts to solve the murder of their adoptive mother; and he provided an edgy jolt of energy as the cell mate-turned-manager of drug dealer and aspiring rapper Marcus (50 Cent) in the urban drama "Get Rich Or Die Tryin'" (2005). Howard’s big 2005 continued with a strong co-starring role opposite Halle Berry in the Oprah Winfrey-produced adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston’s novel, “Their Eyes Were Watching God” (ABC, 2005). Howard finished out the year with a fine turn in the much-praised and decorated “Lackawanna Blues” (HBO, 2005), an endearing tale adapted from Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s Obie award-winning play about his childhood growing up in a boarding house ran by Nanny Crosby (S. Epatha Merkerson), whose open door and wide open heart allow her struggling borders get a new start on life. Howard played Nanny’s drunk and much younger husband, whose loutish behavior stands in stark contrast to her good nature.
By the end of 2005, Howard was a household name and his future was bright. In 2006, he began a season-long hosting gig on the Emmy Award-winning PBS series, “Independent Lens,” a showcase for independent filmmakers that introduced a new drama or documentary every episode. After a turn as the right-hand man for a 1930s gangster (Ving Rhames) in “Idlewild” (2006), Howard gave a strong performance as a college-educated man unable to find a job in 1973 who uses his passion for competitive swimming to team up with a kindly janitor (Bernie Mac) to convert an abandoned pool hall into a recreation center. They recruit a motley band of novices from underprivileged areas to form a swim team, but encounter racism, violence and an unsympathetic city on their way toward a state championship. Meanwhile, Howard starred opposite Jodie Foster in “Brave One” (2007), Neil Jordan’s thriller about a New York radio host (Foster) who seeks revenge on the men responsible for killing her fiancé.