A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled this past week honoring Oscar-nominated actor Terrence Howard, coinciding with the season premiere of his Fox hip-hop drama “Empire.”
Former Fox Television Group Chairman and CEO Dana Walden was among those Howard thanked in his nearly three-minute acceptance speech.
“A few years ago I was taken down by Hollywood and was told I would never work again,” Howard said.
“But then, a young woman named Dana Walden had faith in me and allowed me to head her show.”
Directors Malcolm D. Lee and Dito Montiel preceded Howard in speaking at the 11:30 a.m. ceremony in front of the El Centro Complex on Hollywood Boulevard, near the corner of Hollywood and Vine. Lee directed Howard in the 1999 romantic comedy-drama “The Best Man” and its 2013 sequel, “The Best Man Holiday.” Montiel directed Howard in the 2009 sports action drama “Fighting.”
The star is next to the star of his “Empire” co-star Taraji P. Henson. It is the 2,674th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the first 1,558 stars.
“Because my name is written in stone in Hollywood, as long as there’s a Hollywood Boulevard, Terrence Howard will still stand,” he said.
Howard received a best actor Oscar nomination in 2006 as a Memphis pimp and drug dealer turned aspiring rapper in “Hustle & Flow.” Howard and Henson performed the movie’s theme, “It’s Hard out Here for a Pimp,” which won the Oscar for best original song.
Howard’s other film credits include the 2004 best picture Oscar winner “Crash,” as a movie director whose SUV is pulled over by police officers; the 2004 Ray Charles biography “Ray,” as Charles’ guitarist Gossie McKee; the 2011 Winnie Mandela biography “Winnie” as her husband Nelson Mandela; the 2013 historical drama, “Lee Daniels’ The Butler,” as a neighbor of White House butler Cecil Gaines (Forest Whitaker); and “Iron Man” as Colonel Rhodes.
Born March 11, 1969, in Chicago and raised in Cleveland, Howard’s love for acting was sparked in summers spent with his great-grandmother, actress Minnie Gentry.
Howard made his acting debut with two episodes of the ABC daytime drama “All My Children.” Later that year he co-starred in the ABC miniseries, “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” portraying Jackie Jackson.
Howard’s first television series as a cast member was the short-lived 1993 CBS summer family comedy “Tall Hopes,” playing a high school basketball star.
Howard’s first high-profile movie role was in the 1995 drama “Mr. Holland’s Opus” as a high school athlete.
Howard appeared in the 2008 Broadway production of “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” as Brick.
