Actor Terrence Howard revealed his plans to retire permanently from the film industry.
Howard has been active in the industry since 1992, but this week he revealed that he is ready to take a step back.
He announced his plans to retire while attending the premiere of the Peacock series The Best Man: The Final Chapters. The show is the latest installment in The Best Man franchise and sees Howard reprise his role as Quentin Spivey.
Howard told the press at the event that the series marked “the end” for him. He brought up how he had initially planned to retire in 2019 before returning to the film industry again.
This time, though, he is sure that he really is done. Howard’s reasons for retiring stemmed from a conversation he had with the late legendary actor Sidney Poitier.
Poitier retired from acting in 2009, and Howard explained that in 2012 he asked the former actor if he still wanted to do more work in the industry. Poitier replied, “Why would I spend my last 10 years doing an impersonation of myself?”
Howard stated that he is now at that point where Poitier was. He said he has given his “very best” to acting and is ready to step aside and watch the new talent pour in while he enjoys retirement.
Terrence Howard has retired once before
Howard acknowledged the fact that he had already announced his retirement once before. Back in 2019, he retired following the conclusion of his show Empire.
At the time, he didn’t provide a reason for his retirement. However, he was very adamant that he was “done” with acting and pretending.
By 2021, he was cast in the film Beneath, marking the end of his short-lived retirement. Shortly after being cast in Beneath, he has also cast in Afterward, Skeletons in the Closet, and The Best Man: The Final Chapters.
His films Afterward, Skeletons in the Closet, and Shirley all have yet to be released. However, all three are currently in post-production, with filming wrapped.
Howard is not actively working on any other projects. Once the films in post-production premiere, they could mark his final acting credits.
Given that he was persuaded to come out of retirement once, it remains to be seen if this retirement is final.
Howard’s acting career
It isn’t surprising that the 53-year-old is thinking of retiring from acting once more. Over the past few decades, he has accomplished more than enough to retire satisfied.
Initially, his acting career was supposed to start in 1984 when he was cast in an episode on The Cosby Show at age 15. However, all of his scenes were cut before the show premiered, and he never got a second chance to be on the show.
He continued to pursue a Hollywood career with determination, though, and finally made his acting debut in 1992, appearing on shows like Living Single and NYPD Blue. By 1993, he had made his film debut, and three years later, he was given the lead role in the TV show Sparks.
His career continued to grow as he nabbed roles in Hustle and Flow, Iron Man, Pride, Boycott, and Empire. Howard also picked up some prestigious accolades along the way, including an Academy Award nomination and multiple NAACP Image Award nominations.
The actor also earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, dabbled in Broadway, and taught himself to play the piano and guitar.
Howard has boasted a strong and successful decades-long career and, as he stated, has given his very best to acting and earned his retirement.