A few years ago, there were murmurs that Terrence Howard would be walking away from the world of acting for good. A few utterances from the star of Empire himself appeared to confirm this, but fans have never really been clear about where the actor truly stands.
Howard is as talented as he usually is controversial, and some of his past actions and words have left fans worried about his mental health and overall well-being.
Whatever the future holds for the 53-year-old, he already appears to have cemented his legacy as one of the finest performers of his generation. Here is a look at his life and career, and whether he has in fact hung up his acting boots forever.
8 Terrence Howard Had A Difficult Childhood
Perhaps a sensible explanation for some of Terrence Howard’s eccentric behavior is the fact that he had quite a challenging upbringing. As he grew up in the cities of Chicago and Cleveland, he witnessed and experienced life with an abusive father, who eventually ended up in jail for manslaughter.
Sadly, Howard appeared to have followed in his old man’s footsteps in some ways, with claims of assault levied against him on several occasions.
7 What Was Terrence Howard’s Life Like Before Fame?
In a way, Terrence Howard’s life always revolved around acting and fame. He is the great-grandson of Hollywood and Broadway star Minnie Gentry, and she actually raised him after his parents divorced in light of his father’s incarceration.
Despite this connection, it wasn’t until he was in his 20s that Howard started acting on a professional level.
6 Terrence Howard’s Early Career Roles
Terrence Howard got his start on the silver screen playing Jackson 5 founding member Jackie Jackson in the ABC miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream of 1992. He also featured in two episodes of the soap opera All My Children, also on the same network.
In his early career days, Howard also got to play various roles in movies like Who’s The Man and Mr. Holland’s Opus.
5 Terrence Howard Had A Short-Lived Stint In The MCU
In October 2006, it was confirmed that Terrence Howard had been contracted to join the cast of Iron Man. The film was set to be directed by Jon Favreau, and would become the very first installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He did indeed play the character James "Rhodey" Rhodes in the movie, but he was seemingly fired from the franchise, and replaced by Don Cheadle. The dismissal is said to have cost him around $1 million.
4 Was Empire The Biggest Job Of Terrence Howard’s Career?
Terrence Howard has often given mixed signals about whether he left the MCU on good terms, or whether he was in fact fired. Whichever way, he would go on to enjoy great success playing the larger-than-life villain protagonist Lucious Lyon in Fox’s musical drama series, Empire.
For that job alone, Howard is said to have earned nearly $10 million. Among other factors, that salary arguably makes that job the biggest of his 30-year-long career.
3 Terrence Howard Announced He Was Retiring In 2019
As Empire neared the end of its five-year run on Fox, Terrence Howard made the stunning revelation that the role would be the final one of his career. Speaking to Extra TV in September 2019, he said that he was retiring after Empire because he was ‘tired of pretending,’ as was reported by Complex.
“I’m done with acting,” Howard said. “I’m just focusing on bringing the truth to the world.”
2 What Roles Has Terrence Howard Taken On Since Empire?
Despite his assertion that he was done with acting, Terrence Howard was soon back in front of the camera. In 2021, he starred as a character called Coach Cutting in the Brett Leonard movie titled Triumph.
Howard was also part of the cast of Cut Throat City, an action heist film released in August 2020. Principal photography on that particular project had started all the way back in 2017, however.
1 So, Is Terrence Howard’s Acting Comeback Permanent?
Since his big proclamation that he was walking away from his day job back in 2019, Terrence Howard has not said anything to the contrary. However, his actions so far appear to speak louder than his no words. At the moment, the actor has three movies in post-production, under the titles Afterward, Skeletons in the Closet, and Beneath.
Howard also played a major role in the period drama film The Walk, which was released in June this year. On an unconfirmed future date, he will reunite with the likes of Morris Chestnut, Regina Hall and Taye Diggs in a reboot miniseries of their famous Best Man movie series.