Terrence Howard is known for his bold acting choices and memorable scene stealing monologues. Over the span of two decades, we have come to appreciate his contributions to the arts in the movie industry. But is he being serious this time with a second announcement of him retiring?
While on a press run for the new Peacock series The Best Man: The Final Chapter, where he reprises his role as the eclectic Quentin Spivey, Howard said once again that he is formally retiring from acting.
“This is the end for me. I don’t know if it’s the end for the rest of them,” he said. “I retired two years ago, for the most part. I was done. … I asked Sidney Poitier 10 years ago, does he want to do any more work, and he said, ‘Why would I spend my last 10 years doing an impersonation of myself?’ And that’s what I’ve gotten to.”
The Oscar-nominated actor, 53, made the same claims about stepping away from the big screen in 2019, but returned for multiple projects including Triumph in 2021 and The Walk in 2022.
“I’ve gotten to the point where now I’ve given the very best that I have as an actor,” Howard continued, before praising the younger generation of talent. “Now I’m enjoying watching other new talent come around, and I don’t want to do an impersonation of myself. … Yes, there’s some better actors out there that can do things that I was never able to do. So I want to applaud them, I want to be excited about what they do.”
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.
His latest role in The Best Man: The Final Chapter is garnering rave reviews. The Malcolm Lee directed series is the third installment for the previous two cult classics movies, The Best Man and The Best Man Holiday. Howard co-stars along Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Monica Calhoun, Harold Perrineau, Melissa De Sousa, Regina Hall and Sanaa Lathan, with the first movie grossing over $34 million at the box office.
The response from the new Best Man series has been phenomenal, leading many to hope and believe that there will be a follow up with a season two. If there is, do you think that Howard will come out of retirement for a final encore?