Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor and singer. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films Dead Presidents and Mr. Holland\'s Opus, Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema roles between 2004 and 2006. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Hustle & Flow. Howard has had prominent roles in many other movies including Winnie, Ray, Lackawanna Blues, Crash, Four Brothers, Get Rich or Die Tryin\', Idlewild, August Rush, The Brave One and Prisoners. Howard played James Rhodes in the first Iron Man and its video game adaptation, but he was replaced by Don Cheadle for the future films. He currently stars as the lead character Lucious Lyon in the television series Empire. His debut album, Shine Through It, was released in September 2008.\n', '

Howard was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 11, 1969, to Tyrone and Anita (née Hawkins) Howard. He is the great-grandson of stage actress Minnie Gentry. Both of Howard\'s parents were biracial, with African and Anglo ancestry. Howard was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and experienced a rocky childhood, enduring disciplinary beatings from his physically abusive father, and even witnessing his father stabbing another man when he was just 2 years old in the Santa Line Slaying. The killing resulted in his father spending 11 months in jail for manslaughter. Howard\'s parents divorced upon his father\'s release. He was then raised by his great-grandmother, who died shortly after Howard appeared in Iron Man as Lt. Col. James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Tony Stark/Iron Man\'s best friend.\n', '

Howard first entered the entertainment world when he portrayed Jackie Jackson in The Jacksons: An American Dream, an ABC miniseries. Three years later, he made his big film break in 1995\'s Mr. Holland\'s Opus. He continued being cast in television and movie roles and co-starred as Greg Sparks in the late-1990s short-lived television series Sparks, with James L. Avery, Sr. and Miguel A. Nunez Jr. Howard also appeared in The Best Man in 1999, in Ashanti\'s music video for her 2002 single "Foolish", and in Mary J. Blige\'s video for "Be Without You". Howard made an appearance on the TV series Family Matters.\n', '

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