Terrence Howard
Terrence Howard | |
|---|---|
 Howard at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival | |
| Born | Terrence Dashon Howard March 11, 1969[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, singer-songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Lori McCommas (m. 1994–2005)Michelle Ghent (m. 2010–2013)Mira Pak (m. 2013) |
| Children | 5 |
Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor and singer. 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, Ray, Lackawanna Blues, Crash, Four Brothers, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Idlewild, August Rush, The Brave One and Prisoners. Howard played James Rhodes in Iron Man and reprised the role in the video game adaptation. However, he was replaced by Don Cheadle for the future films. He currently stars as the lead character Lucious Lyon in the television series Empire. His debut album, Shine Through It, was released in September 2008.
Early life
Howard was born in Chicago, Ilinois on March 11, 1969. His father Tyrone Howard is black while his mother Anita (nee Hawkins) is white.
Career
Howard first entered the entertainment world 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. He continued being cast in television and movie roles and co-starred as Greg Sparks in the late-1990s television series Sparks, with James L. Avery, Sr. and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. Howard also appeared in The Best Man in 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 stated that he looks for characters that "teach him about himself" when choosing his film roles.[2] Howard has also worked as a film producer, receiving such a credit for the film Pride. In 2008, Howard hosted the PBS series Independent Lens.
For the 2005 movie Hustle & Flow, Howard performed all the tracks for his character, including "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp", which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 78th Academy Awards.
Howard was the highest-paid cast member of the 2008 film Iron Man. He did not appear in either of the follow-up sequels because it was reported that he would have had to take a 50 to 80 percent pay cut and was replaced by actor Don Cheadle.[3]
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 tracks on the album.[4][5]
In 2008, he made his Broadway debut, playing Brick in an all-African-American production of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, directed by Debbie Allen and also starring James Earl Jones (Big Daddy), Phylicia Rashad (Big Mama) and Anika Noni Rose (Maggie). During rehearsals he allegedly attacked and seriously injured musical composer Tex Allen (brother of the director), who said he suffered multiple injuries as a result of being punched multiple times in the head and face. In October 2008, Allen filed a $5 million lawsuit against Howard.[6]
In October 2008, Howard made a guest appearance in the short film For All Mankind directed by Daniel L. Clifton, filmed on location in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. In 2009, he starred in the movie Fighting.
It was reported on July 30, 2010, that Howard had joined the cast of the new Law & Order: Los Angeles installment of the Law & Order franchise, where he played Deputy District Attorney Joe Dekker. He alternated shows with Alfred Molina, who portrayed Deputy District Attorney Ricardo Morales.[7] The series was cancelled after one season. In 2011, Howard played Nelson Mandela in Winnie Mandela alongside Jennifer Hudson.
Since 2015, he stars on the Fox television series, Empire. The former was created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong in which he plays a hip-hop mogul who discovers he is dying and must ensure the survival of his music empire. The cast includes Taraji P. Henson and Gabourey Sidibe. He was also part of the Fox series Wayward Pines, which ran for one season in 2015. The latter series was produced by M. Night Shyamalan and also included cast members Matt Dillon, Melissa Leo, and Juliette Lewis.
Personal life
Howard lives outside Philadelphia in Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania.[8] He has been married four times to three women, and has five children and two grandchildren.[9]
Howard married his first wife, Lori McCommas, in 1994.[10] They have three children together: daughters Aubrey and Heaven, and son Hunter. Through Aubrey, Howard has two grandchildren, a granddaughter born in December 2012 and a grandson (Adrian) born in February 2015.[11] Howard and McCommas divorced in 2003, but remarried in 2005. They subsequently divorced for a second time in 2007.[2][12] McCommas was born Jewish but is raising their children as Jehovah's Witnesses.[13] In an interview with NPR, Howard stated he wanted to become a Jehovah's Witness as well.[14]
Howard married his second wife, commercial production employee Michelle Ghent. Ghent filed for divorce in February 2011.[15] Ghent filed for a restraining order in December 2011, accusing Howard of being physically abusive toward her. Their divorce was finalized in May 2013.[16]
Howard wed his third wife, model/restaurateur Mira Pak, in late 2013.[17][18] They have two sons, Qirin Love (born May 7, 2015) and Hero (born in the summer of 2016).[19]
Though he did not complete his engineering degree, Howard thinks of himself as an engineer and intends to return one day to complete the "three credits"[20] of which he is currently short.[8][21][22][23] Howard's account of his educational history has not been confirmed; Pratt Institute, which he says he attended, closed its engineering degree program in 1993.[24] On February 26, 2013, Howard said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! that he had earned a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from South Carolina State University that year. Although he was awarded a Doctorate of Humane Letters from SCSU in 2012, he never attended the university and never earned a degree in chemical engineering.[22]
In 2010, Howard was inducted as an honorary member into Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.[25]
In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, Howard explained that he had formulated his own language of logic, which he called Terryology, and which he was keeping secret until he had patented it. This logic language would be used to prove his contention that "1 x 1 = 2".[26]
"How can it equal one?" he said. "If one times one equals one that means that two is of no value because one times itself has no effect. One times one equals two because the square root of four is two, so what's the square root of two? Should be one, but we're told it's two, and that cannot be."[26]
Howard blames his leaving Pratt over disagreements with a professor regarding this hypothesis. He also stated that he spends many hours a day constructing models of plastic and wire that he patented and claims to confirm his belief.[26]
Filmography
Film
TV movies
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Jacksons: An American Dream | Jackie Jackson | |
| 1993 | Tall Hopes | Chester Harris | |
| 1995 | The O.J. Simpson Story | Young A.C. | |
| 2000 | King of the World | Cassius Clay | |
| 2001 | Boycott | Ralph Abernathy | Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor Nominated—NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special |
| 2005 | Their Eyes Were Watching God | Amos Hicks | |
| 2005 | Lackawanna Blues | Bill Crosby | NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special Nominated—Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actor |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Family Matters | John | 1 episode |
| 1994 | Living Single | Brendan King | |
| 1994 | Coach | Johnny Williams | |
| 1995 | New York Undercover | Buster Goings | |
| 1996–98 | Sparks | Greg Sparks | |
| 2010–11 | Law & Order: LA | Senior D.D.A. Jonah "Joe" Dekker | Series regular |
| 2011 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Senior D.D.A. Jonah "Joe" Dekker | Episode: "Reparations" |
| 2012 | Hawaii Five-0 | Billy | Episode: "I Ka Wa Mamua" |
| 2015–present | Empire | Lucious Lyon | Series regular Won—BET Award for Best Actor Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Drama Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Villain Nominated—Teen Choice Awards for Choice TV Chemistry Nominated—People's Choice Awards, Favorite Dramatic TV Actor (2016) Pending—People's Choice Awards, Favorite Dramatic TV Actor (2017) |
| 2015–2016 | Wayward Pines | Sheriff Arnold Pope | Series regular (season 1) Recurring (season 2) |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Iron Man | USAF Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes | Voice role |
Music Videos
| 2002 | Foolish | Ashanti | 3:47 | Ashanti | |
| 2005 | Be Without You | Mary J. Blige | 4:07 | The Breakthrough | Be Without You |
| 2015 | Ghosttown | Madonna | 5:28 | Rebel Heart | Ghosttown |
Discography
- Shine Through It (2008)
References
- ^ "Monitor". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1250. March 15, 2013. p. 23.
- ^ a b Cohen, Sandy (March 22, 2007). "Terrence Howard tries on more leading roles, a music career". Akron Beacon Journal. Retrieved March 22, 2007.[dead link]
- ^ Entertainment (October 22, 2015). "Terrence Howard: 'Iron Man' responsible for 'killing my career'". NBC News.
- ^ "Terrance Howard Biography". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
- ^ "'Shine Through It' Review". allmusic.com. Retrieved April 9, 2011.
- ^ Thomson, Katherine (October 26, 2008). "Terrence Howard Sued For Alleged Beat Down". Huffington Post.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 30, 2010). "Terrence Howard To Join 'Law & Order: LA'".
- ^ a b Koltnow, Barry (March 22, 2007). "A star emerges: Terrence Howard is finally in the spotlight". PopMatters. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ "Terrence Howard Reveals His & Wife's Due Date, Welcomes New Grandson". theybf.com.
- ^ "Howard Bought Ex-wife Her Dream Home In A Bid To Win Her Back". Contactmusic.com. November 3, 2008.
- ^ Sarie. "TERRENCE HOWARD IS A GRANDPA". Black Celebrity Kids.
- ^ Fiorillo, Victor (August 13, 2013). "Exclusive: Here's Another Woman Butler Star Terrence Howard Punched". Philly. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ Husband, Stuart (May 18, 2008). "Damn right I'm difficult". The Guardian. London. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
- ^ "Terrence Howard: 'I Would Be a Witness'". NPR.org. May 22, 2007.
- ^ Sangweni, Yolanda (February 2, 2011). "Terrence Howard and Michelle Ghent Call It Quits". Essence. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ Takeda, Allison (May 10, 2013). "Terrence Howard Finalizes Divorce From Michelle Ghent After Two Years". Us Weekly. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ Nathan, Sara; White, Chris (December 11, 2013). "EXCLUSIVE - 'I'll sleep when I'm dead': The racy model-turned-restaurant owner who married actor Terrence Howard after just a month". Daily Mail. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ Lee, Esther (January 2, 2015). "Terrence Howard's Wife Miranda Is Pregnant! Actor Expecting Fourth Baby". Us Weekly. Retrieved January 2, 2015.
- ^ "Terrence Howard & Mira Pak Expecting Second Child — See Her Baby Bump!". Retrieved August 22, 2016.
- ^ "Terrence Howard Lies about having a Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering on Jimmy Kimmel Live". Retrieved August 22, 2016.
- ^ "Terrence Howard Leads The Showtime Marching Band at Homecoming".
- ^ a b Huber, Jeff (April 12, 2013). "Terrence Howard Isn't A Doctor, He Just Plays One On TV". Chemical & Engineering News: Blog.
- ^ "Hustle & Flow : An Interview with Terrence D. Howard and Producer Stephanie Allain".
- ^ "History". Pratt Institute.
- ^ "[PHOTO] Actor Terrence Howard at his Phi Beta Sigma induction". Progressive Greek.
- ^ a b c Hedegaard, Erik (September 14, 2015). "Terrence Howard's Dangerous Mind". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
- ^ Yamato, Jen (April 9, 2014). "Terrence Howard Tapped For 'Term Life'". Deadline.com. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
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External links
- General
- Terrence Howard at IMDb
- Terrence Howard at the Internet Broadway Database
- Terrence Howard UK music website
- Artist of the Month: Terrence Howard at Hyena Productions
- All African-American production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof website
- Interviews
- Terrence Howard interview by Adam Tanswell, 'Iron Man' December 2008
- Terrence Howard interview by Pete Lewis, 'Blues & Soul' September 2008
- Howard interview, August 2005, Bullz-Eye.com
- Howard interview, July 2005, New York Metro
- Howard interview, May 2005, About.com
- Terrence Howard interview on the Tavis Smiley show
- 2007 NPR interview, "Terrence Howard: 'I Would Be a Witness'"
- Stuart Husband, Damn right I'm difficult (Interview), The Observer, May 18, 2008
- 1969 births
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American male actors
- African-American male actors
- African-American rappers
- American male film actors
- American male television actors
- African-American television producers
- American male video game actors
- American male voice actors
- Living people
- Columbia Records artists
- Male actors from Chicago
- Male actors from Cleveland
- Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- Pratt Institute alumni