New York – In the span of one breakfast, Terrence Howard expounds on the healing powers of baby oil, the philosophy of Lebanese writer Khalil Gibran, and why it’s OK to like Kelly Clarkson’s music.
Howard’s mind hurtles in a thousand directions. The one destination he’s ecstatic to have reached? His recent best-actor Oscar nomination for playing a rapping pimp in “Hustle & Flow” and a best-picture nod for his other big 2005 movie, “Crash.” The highlight of hearing his name is “just knowing that I have a shot. Knowing that my work was good enough to be considered among the best of this year,” Howard said.
Unlike the other nominees, most of whom nonchalantly say they were sound asleep, the exuberant Howard admits to not only watching the Jan. 31 announcement, but setting his alarm to make sure he didn’t sleep through it.
He’s excited about finally being recognized, says “Hustle” director Craig Brewer, because “for years, (he’s) been honing his craft and waiting for his break.”
“Terrence is loving the attention, and it’s genuine,” says “Crash” director Paul Haggis. “He’s really excited about it, and it’s how we’d hope to react if it happened to us.”
So far, Howard’s fellow nominees, Heath Ledger (“Brokeback Mountain”) and Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Capote”), have won the majority of the acting prizes leading up to the Oscars, but for Howard, a little acknowledgment goes a long way.
“This is my first starring role in a movie,” said Howard, still sounding shellshocked. “I was sitting there talking to Tim Robbins last night, and he made a statement that I believe to be true.
“He’s like, ‘This is Philip Seymour Hoffman’s year.’ And I said, ‘Well, I felt like this was a year in which I was just invited to a party.’ I’m so glad that I took supporting roles for 20 years so that when I finally got a starring vehicle, I could do my very best at it.”
And Howard, 36, is not remotely sick of the accolades being lavished on him after years of slogging away in films such as 2001’s “Angel Eyes.” “You get sick of not being interviewed,” he says before digging into scrambled eggs, bacon and French toast with strawberries.
He doesn’t even mind being called an overnight success. “Let them think I’m a genius. Don’t spoil the fantasy.”
Howard has an independent streak that influences the roles he chooses.
Take “Hustle.” Howard, who listens to James Taylor, Paul Simon and Jim Croce, and likes Clarkson’s voice and attitude, detests rap, decries violence and dislikes his character DJay, the perennially sweaty, short-
tempered, gaudily coiffed hustler who dreams of breaking into the music industry.
But “after you’ve done it, you’ve got to take pride in your work,” he says. “I love my emotionally, morally deformed child.”
Howard, who split from wife Lori last year, likes “pretty girls” but is single.
So at the Oscar nominees’ luncheon last week, Howard turned for guidance to fellow Oscar nominee George Clooney, who told him “‘You have every possible chance that you want. You’ve got to make sure the things you choose are the things you want,”‘ Howard says. Besides, “Maybe me and my ex-wife will work out again. There’s always hope for that.” Ladies aside, the former chemical-engineering major mostly hangs out and plays music.
“He loves the attention and doing what he does and getting paid and recognized for it,” said Malcolm Lee, who directed Howard in 1999’s “The Best Man.” “But he also wouldn’t die if he didn’t do it anymore.”
Howard is shooting the drama “August Rush” with Robin Williams and Freddie Highmore and then plays Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in “The Crusaders.” Next, he wants to portray a nut case.
“Khalil Gibran said madness frees us from the world’s understanding of us,” he says. “So I want to play someone a little freer.”
Haggis praises Howard’s professional “fearlessness, which is there probably because of what happened to his dad. He knows that nothing worse than that can happen to him.” In 1971, Howard saw his father fatally stab a man when the two scuffled while standing in line with their kids to see a department store Santa. His dad subsequently spent time in prison.
These days about the only part of his life that’s unsettled is his family. Howard’s ex-wife lives in Philadelphia with their two daughters and son: Aubrey, 12, Hunter, 10, and Heavenly, 8.
Howard frets his kids are so used to him being away that, over the phone, they ask him “‘How long are you going to be home for?’
“Right now I’m in the full grind. You’ve got to lay down the cornerstones as quickly as possible.”
To that end, he’s fitting in red-carpet appearances between days spent on his Manhattan movie set. But career-
building aside, Malcolm Lee has a bit of aesthetic advice before Howard goes to the Oscars, airing March 5.
“I wish he’d take the straightener out of his hair. Hasn’t let go of the character of DJay. Terrence, your hair ain’t like that, brother!”
