Terrence Howard. Source: Unique Nicole / Getty
As we prepare for The Best Man: Final Chapters, Terrence Howard confirmed that he is in his final chapter as well. The former Empire star said that is officially retiring from acting. He shared that some valuable advice from the late Sidney Poitier was influential in his decision.
“This is the end for me. I don’t know if it’s the end for the rest of them,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “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.”
Howard said he is ready to step back and watch the new talent rise to fame as one of the elders who is out of the spotlight.
“I’ve gotten to the point where now I’ve given the very best that I have as an actor,” he added. “Now I’m enjoying watching other new talent come around, and I don’t want to do an impersonation of myself.”
He added, “Yes, there’s some better actors out there that can do things that I was never able to do,” he said. “So, I want to applaud them, I want to be excited about what they do.”
Terrence Howard Spoke About Retiring In 2019
As Empire was coming to a close, Terrence Howard shared that he had plans of “running away as quickly as possible” from the world of acting.
“I’ve been playing pretend for forever. [There’s] no need to play pretend anymore,” the Oscar-nominated actor told ET.
He added that he wanted to make an exit so he could “to get to what I’m supposed to be. You know? It’s a good thing.”
The Chicago native has been acting since 1992. He has an extensive list of credits for roles in movies and television shows including, All My Children, Four Brothers, The Jacksons: An American Dream, Hustle & Flow, Big Momma’s House, The Best Man, The Best Man: Holiday, Living Single, NYPD Blue, Sparks, Family Matters and many more.
