Actor Terrence Howard usually plays the suave debonair characters in his movie roles, but now this smooth actor is taking his talents to television. Terrence will be starring on “Law & Order: Los Angeles” as the Deputy District Attorney.
Terrence took time out of his hectic acting schedule to speak with GlobalGrind about his new TV role, his fashion sense, and his love for music. Check out the exclusive interview below!
GlobalGrind: You’re an established film actor, why the move to TV?
Terrence Howard: It used to be that 40 – 30 years ago television was a place where film actors went to die. That’s not the case anymore some of the better programming and some of the better writing is actually on television and cable these days. You have to continue to grow with the industry. You cannot become extinct by extinct thoughts by antiquated ideas. What I have learned by the characters that I have played in my life all of them have added up to who I’m playing now with Jonah Decker, but it has also giving me the opportunity while in the process of filming this I have been able to do 3 other movies.
What have you learned about the justice system that surprised you?
Well, you know learning that most of these criminal cases especially that deal with homicide they go on for 5-6 months not 2-3 weeks judicial process that is supposedly to be speedy that’s speedy to them. You can end up sitting in jail for 6 months waiting for an arraignment. There are a lot of things that can take place. I used to think that it benefited a suspect to talk to the police or the DA to get the information out even if you are 100% in the right utilize when they read the Miranda to you listen to it, you do not say anything to anyone except your lawyer. Something you may say might create circumstantial suspicion that may cause you a great deal of problems and sense the world is based on perception not based on reality perception can ruin your life. So you know you have to be very smart and utilize what the government and judicial system has set in place to protect you even for yourself.
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What’s the thought process when picking a project like this?
Well, the first thing you have to do is make sure whatever film you’re doing is great quality and that it won’t end up out to video first. You have to make sure the TV show you are doing is something of a great quality. You have to test every nickel all the way through. You need to keep the challenges up. You know Dick [Wolf] is really good at making sure the writing is top of line.. We learn details by talking to the prosecutors and the police that were involved in the actual investigations. We learn details that never surfaced to the media so we have an insight that you can’t really shake a fist at.
What’s the different between this new show, Law and Order: LA and Law and Order: New York?
Well, the difference in the show in New York is more of straight forward very gritty. It’s not necessarily emotionally driven more circumstantial driven situations. With Los Angeles you have the Mecca center of entertainment of the world. It is the access in which all entertainment around the world that revolves about. So there is a lot of high profile people that get involved with legal circumstances that makes it even more exciting, but it actually add another layer of how do we deal with these people on a political basis. It makes it a little more exciting of what could take place because we are in land of LA.
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Hopefully you didn’t incorporate his fashion sense. [Laughter]
One of the things you hate as an actor is have to go and change 4 or 5 times a day. You don’t want to have to change anymore and I think that is why he did that. He did not want have to take his pants off, take of his tie, have them rerun a line and wire through it, my god I hate doing that. I wish I could wear the same thing every day and change the tie. It would be so much easier.
Great job on Lopez Tonight the other day, how did you guys make that happen? [Referencing his impromptu performance with the band]
That was because Lopez is really cool and I have always been a big fan of his. To sit up there and meet him was the greatest thing. For him to invite me to play with the incredible band all of those fellow band members. Most of them played with Michael Jackson you know and I don’t mean played with him in Neverland, they actually played with him on stage. That was an incredible incredible experience.
We know you can sing but to sing on TV in a language you don’t know, that’s impressive.
[Laughter] If you watch closely there was a period in time where I stopped singing because I forgot the words. [Laughter] I just smiled through it and there were only 2 lines that I was like I do not want to say this wrong because I will get creamed, but you know Valeri everybody loves it. The Gypsy Kings makes up words half the time anyways, so I don’t feel like I did too much wrong. [Laughter]
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Actor Terrence Howard.
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Actor Terrence Howard.
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Actor Terrence Howard.
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Actor Terrence Howard.
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