Terrence Howard is best known for his role as the music mogul Lucious Lyon in the Fox TV series Empire. However, it is on the big screen where he has put in the most work, appearing in 60 feature films in total. Howard has also been nominated for plenty of awards throughout his career.
In late 2019, the actor suggested that he would retire from acting after his current contract with Fox ends. Retirement in the entertainment business is rarely permanent (Hi Joe Pesci!), so we'd definitely expect him to see him making a U-turn in the near future. Here are his best movies ever, according to IMDb.
Dead Presidents (6.9)
Dead Presidents is a crime thriller film which is based on the book Bloods: An Oral History of the Vietnam War by Black Veterans by journalist Wallace Terry. The movie follows a man named Anthony Curtis from his teenage years to his life in the military as a soldier in Vietnam.
When he comes back to The Bronx from the war, he struggles to support himself and thus decides to be a gangster. The character Curtis is also based on the real-life war veteran Haywood T. Kirkland. Terrence plays a man named Cowboy who takes every opportunity to emphasize why war is bad.
St. Vincent (7.2)
The 2014 comedy St. Vincent doesn't get as much hype but it's a masterpiece. It received plenty of praise for his humor and plot. The movie was nominated for 26 awards in total by different bodies. St. Vincent revolves around a retired war veteran named Vincent MacKenna who decides to settle for a life of heavy drinking and gambling in Sheepshead Bay.
His wife, Sandy, doesn't recognize him anymore since she developed Alzheimer's many years ago. Due to Vincent's aggressiveness, the only close person to him is a Russian prostitute named Daka. Terrence Howard plays Vincent's loan shark named Zucko.
The Butler (7.2)
The Butler is considered by many as one of the best movies to be ever snubbed by the Oscars. Despite getting no love from the Academy, it received 25 nominations in total from other award organizations. Oprah Winfrey also received plenty of praise for her performance.
The movie was packed with big names that included Forrest Whitaker, Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelewo and Mariah Carey. Terrence Howard retained his name and played Howard, a man who tries to woo the wife of white house butler Cecil Gaines (Whitaker).
Hustle And Flow (7.3)
Terrence's role here is quite similar to his role in Empire. Perhaps Hustle And Flow was the inspiration for the Fox TV show. His empire co-star Taraji P. Henson also plays his love interest in this film. Terrence's performance earned him a Best Actor nomination at the Oscars.
In the movie, he is a pimp and drug dealer known as Djay who aspires to be a rapper. Taraji plays a prostitute who becomes pregnant with Djay's child and ends up doing extra vocals for Djay. The movie was widely lauded for the performances by the cast as well as the soundtrack.
Mr. Hollund's Opus (7.5)
Mr. Hollund's Opus is about a high school music teacher named Glenn Holland who dreams of writing his own musical composition. But despite Mr. Holland being good at what he does, he is frequently sad because of constant family problems.
Terrence Howard had one of his very first roles in Mr. Hollund's Opus which came out in 1995. His first credited role also came in the same year in Dead Presidents. Terrence has a minor role in the movie, only appearing for a limited amount of time as a band member named Louis Russ.
August Rush (7.5)
August Rush is a musical that revolves around a young talented boy who lives in an orphanage. He decides to flee to New York City where he begins to discover himself. His mother keeps searching for him as he goes through his adventures in the city.
The different sounds that he keeps hearing inspire to make an instrumental composition that eventually concludes the events of the film. "Raise It Up," the soundtrack, was nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars. In the movie, Terrence plays a child counselor known as Richard Jeffries.
Ray (7.7)
The highly-entertaining and critically acclaimed music biopic Ray tells the story of the legendary blind singer and pianist Ray Charles. Jamie Foxx's performance earned him an Oscar for Best Actor. But Foxx wasn't solely responsible for the film's brilliance. He was backed by a talented supporting cast that included Terrence Howard, Regina King, and Kerry Washington.
Howard plays the guitarist Gossie McKee in the film. Gossie initially takes care of Ray and handles some of hos finances but is later revealed to be conning the talented blind singer. Ray soon discovers what's going on and cuts ties with Gossie.
Crash (7.8)
This movie earned Terrence Howard more award nominations than he could handle (12 in total). Crash also won Best Picture at the Oscars but this drew much controversy since many people felt that Brokeback Mountain starring Heath Ledger was the better film.
The movie which focussed on racial tensions in Los Angeles saw Terrence playing Cameron Thayer, a successful television producer who ends up being harassed by police after being pulled over. He is wife is also searched inappropriately during the interrogation.
Iron Man (7.9)
Well, no one will be dispute it when we say this is a movie that needs no explanation. Iron Man laid the foundation for what would be later known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film told the story of how Tony Stark (Robert Downey Junior) became Iron Man.
Terrence Howard played Lt. Col. James Rhodes aka War Machine. However, after disagreements regarding contracts, he was replaced by Don Cheadle for the next Iron Man film and subsequent Marvel films that included the character. We can't help but wonder what the MCU would be like with Terrence in it.
Prisoners (8.1)
In Prisoners, two young girls are abducted in Pennsylvania resulting in an intense manhunt for the abductor by law enforcement officers. When the police arrest a suspect and later let him go, one of the fathers of the young girls decides to hunt down the man.
The film had a stellar cast that included Hugh Jackman who draws claws at some point and shouts "Hail X-Men!" Okay, that's a lie. Viola Davis was in it too as well as Jake Gyllenhaal. Terrence plays Franklin Birch, the man who was hosting Thanksgiving dinner when the girls disappeared.