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*An Oscar nomination will do wonders for one’s career, but 2005 nominee Terrence Howard will tell you that his latest string of film and TV projects is a result of years and years of working his Hollywood grind.
The actor opens today in the OutKast musical “Idlewild,” he just wrapped production on the film, “Pride,” where he stars as a swim coach for an inner-city team of kids, and it was announced yesterday that he has been chosen to host the 2006-2007 season of PBS’ award-winning series Independent Lens.
“I’m supporting Jodie Foster right now,” he adds, referring to the film he’s currently shooting, “The Brave One,” and “I go into the next movie and support Richard Gere” in “Spring Break in Bosnia.”
But at the present moment for Howard it’s all about Trumpy, the colorful mobster he portrays in the long-awaited “Idlewild.” Set in the 1930s, the musical revolves around a night club in the South, its piano player Percival (Andre 3000) and manager Rooster (Big Boi). Circumstances surrounding a shooting places Trumpy in the lofty position of controlling the influx of liquor into the juke joint, which, in turn, plunges Rooster into turmoil.
“I got to do a Clark Gable hairdo. How many people get to do that?” Howard said of his role, which included the peculiar coiffure as well as a memorable array of tailored suits. He says his wardrobe in the film reflects an era “when accessorizing meant everything – with the hat, the shirt, the suit and tie the stature, the manliness, the respectability in how you said hello to someone, taking your hat off – all of those things make it easier for you as an actor to believe what you’re doing. When you can look in a mirror and see 1930 in everything you have on – the hair, the costume – I love that.”
Howard will leave the 30s behind for more contemporary looks in a slew of upcoming projects, including supporting roles in “The Brave One,” where Foster is a woman seeking revenge on the man who brutally attacked her and Howard is a homicide detective on her trail; and “Spring Break in Bosnia,” starring Gere as one of two journalists (with Jesse Eisenberg) heading to post-war Bosnia on an unauthorized mission to find a notorious war criminal. There’s also “August Rush,” in which Howard takes on another supporting role in the story of an orphaned musical prodigy who uses his gift as a clue to find his birth parents.
“I got to work with little Freddie Highmore,” Howard gushed about the film’s star, who received critical acclaim for his roles in “Finding Neverland” and “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
And although the ink isn’t dry on the contract, Howard says it’s pretty much a lock that he’ll portray Thurgood Marshall in “The Crusaders,” a film about his work on the historic “Brown vs. Board of Education” case, which led to the desegregation of public schools in the United States.
“He’s been so layered in history. His contribution is what we live by today as a staple of our freedoms,” Howard said of the eventual Supreme Court Justice, adding that Marshall’s place in black history will give him insight on just how to portray the pioneer.
“I’m not going from some strange place, like wow, I gotta create this character,” he explains. “All I have to do is follow the path of historic truth and the moral values by which he lived and my job is done. Do I have to imitate his voice perfectly? No. I have to find the spirit of his voice and it will all fall right into play.”
In the meantime, Howard just completed a starring role in “Pride,” about the true story of a man who starts a swim team for troubled teens at the Philadelphia Department of Recreation. He has also been recruited by PBS to host its upcoming fifth season of “Independent Lens.”
Howard said of the honor: "In this season alone, our filmmakers take us from Ethiopia to Cuba to small-town USA, with portraits of people as diverse as the jazz genius Billy Strayhorn, the people behind the Enron scandal, and a man who saves a flock of wild parrots -- even teenage beauty queens who skin muskrats for their talent competition. I hope everyone will join us for the amazing season ahead."
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