"For me, the best thing that has ever happened in my career has not happened yet."
For Terry Crews, there are no rules. "There used to be so many rules. They used to say, 'you can't do TV, you must only do movies, you can't do commercials.'" But Crews has proven you can do all of those things and more. He just joined pal Dave Bautista in The Killer's Game (September 13). Crews loves that it's funny, saying "to make people laugh is probably the hardest job in entertainment, because no one can agree on what's funny." He also loves that "it wasn't three hours. I've had it with the three-hour movies." Whether it's acting or hosting America's Got Talent, Crews says he polished his comedy skills in an unexpected place while in the NFL. "I honed my skills trying to make other athletes laugh in the locker room." He'll be putting that skill to use in the upcoming animated reboot of Everybody Hates Chris. "I have been floored by the acceptance of things I've done in the past that have all of a sudden become bigger." Crews is aware how rare he has it. "I'm an old football player, so everything I'm doing is already past what anyone ever expected."
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Editor's Note: This conversation has been edited and condensed for publication.
I love that you're sort of all over the place right now with so many projects.
First of all, there are no rules. There used to be so many rules. They used to say, you can't do TV, you must only do movies, you can't do commercials, or you'll be too exposed. Then it became, okay, if you go into this lane, if you do reality, you're going to be stuck here. Man, I did it. Listen, I'm an old football player, so everything I'm doing right now is, I'm already past what anyone ever expected. So there really are no rules for me. And another thing is, I don't have the background, a lot of schooling. Acting coaches are like, 'Okay, you have to do this, you have to do that.' I learned on the fly. I learned as I went. So, there's no one to judge me on any of this stuff. One phrase that I like to say is to care deeply about people, but not what they think about you. That's kind of my recipe for going around in life is that I care about people, I care about pleasing the fans, the people I'm performing with. This is why I love ensembles. It feels like home to me. Dave Bautista and I wanted to work together for years. I knew him when he had hair. We both had hair back when we were doing Everybody Hates Chris and wrestling was on The CW and UPN. So, we would hit each other up, even at the upfronts and stuff.
I need to ask you about The Killer's Game. It's just fun, a big, action, comedy. Did that stand out to you?
That's another thing too. I'm so happy it wasn't three hours. I've had it with the three-hour movie right now.
Same. I always gotta pee.
I'm sleepy. I turned 56 yesterday, I'm going to bed at 8:30. [laughs] but this movie, it's such a fun ride. I was telling my manager; I just go back to 16-years-old on my first date. That's the movie I would go see and we would go get a pizza afterwards and talk about how fun it was. Talk about the jokes, talk about the whole thing. It had a little touch of romance in it, big guys just doing crazy stuff. That's my perfect date film. You know what I mean?
I do. The comedy of it really is the appealing part, because we don't have many action comedies these days like we did with films like Lethal Weapon. Did that appeal to you?
Yes. I am a comedic actor. When you go back to everything that I've done in the comedic world, the locker room is the funniest place of all time. Athletes are cartoon characters. Extremes on every level. And it was so fun, so big, so boisterous, everything was at its extremes that you just laughed all the time. And people don't understand, if you're in the locker room, you laugh. And so that's where I honed my skills, trying to make other athletes laugh in the locker room. And then to go into Friday After Next and White Chicks and Longest Yard, all the stuff I did with [Adam] Sandler and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. To make people laugh is not only probably the hardest job in entertainment, because no one can agree on what's funny. Dramatic performances, you can say that's all sad. We can all agree that's sad. Or we can all agree this is intense, but funny is so subjective. And if you can make a room crack up, oh, my God, you really have magic. When you look at Deadpool and Wolverine and the success of that, it's like we've been missing comedy for a long time. I have to tell you; comedy's been dying on TV. What they've been doing is a lot of dramedies. They have things that they call comedies, but they're just very intense, and you might get a giggle. And I really want to go back to let's go there. Let's make it as intense as possible, but funny, why not? And this to me, what J.J. Perry did [the director], and what Bautista put together, and all the guys, Scott Adkins is hilarious in this movie. Just everybody was willing to go there, which is so refreshing. And it's something that I have to say, we haven't seen in a long time, and I think it's coming back in a great way.
A lock room is funny? I've been missing stuff.
That's the thing. You're told that football or whatever sport you're playing is the most serious thing ever, and then you're like, the only way to really play is to relax. That's the trick. The more serious you get about it, the more stuck up, and the more you choke.
That must be freeing, to know you can go from something as serious as the sports world to find out you're funny and have kind of a new lease on what you can do.
I used to get on a movie set or on a television set making the cameraman laugh. You're like, whoa! It's working. You know what I mean? Now, I have never been a standup comedian, but I've always been jealous of those guys, because they can go, and every night get those laughs. So that is the one major reason why I decided to become a host and host America's Got Talent, so that I can get in front of a live audience and feel that energy. It's the same energy that I had in the NFL. It's the same energy you look for. Once Killer's Game comes out, I'm going to be sneaking in the back of all the theaters, and I'm going to be listening and watching for reactions, for laughs, because I need it. [laughs]
What do you love about hosting America's Got Talent? And if you did the show, what would your talent be?
Well, first of all, the thing I love about the show is simply, it's who I am. You have to understand, I'm from Flint, Michigan. Being in Los Angeles doing what I do right now was the equivalent of flying to Mars. Even if I mentioned, 'Oh man, one day I'd like to be on TV,' you'd get stares like you had an eye in the middle of your forehead. To be doing this at this level, I realized I'm living a dream. But also, everyone who comes there is from a place where I'm from. They're on Earth, looking to get to Mars. Every act that's ever been on there, they're from all over the world. So, I love it, because I'm like, 'Dude, this is possible.' And this is another thing that I heard which is so relevant to what we're talking about right now. They say perfect storms are rare, but they always happen. The rarity of someone coming and getting on the show and becoming a star is rare, yeah, but that's how stars are made. You see what I mean? Name a star that came that didn't come from ambiguity. Will Smith was in Philly somewhere, or Chris Rock was in Brooklyn, just getting bullied and now he's the biggest star in the world. Perfect storms are rare, but they always happen, yeah? And my job is to be there when they happen. To help these guys overcome their fears and just make it the best stage they could ever have. To achieve this dream that I achieved already.
You really are that bridge between where they come from and where they want to be.
Listen, athletes want to be singers. Singers want to be actors. Actors want to be athletes. The circle just keeps flying around. Most athletes feel like, once I retire, here comes my film career. But look how rare that is. I know I am a unicorn. Even Bautista, the wrestler and then all of a sudden to be doing movies. Theres so many wrestlers who didn't get to do it, so many football players who didn't get to do what we're doing. We sat on the set like, 'Dude, can you believe what we're doing right now?' Wow. Like we are actually doing it on this level. So, there's always this respect and this attitude of gratefulness. We're very, very fortunate to be doing it. Now, let's go do the hell out of it.
Well, what would your talent be if you were auditioning?
I actually am an artist. I draw, I paint, I do my thing. So, what I would do is I would sketch the judges on stage shirtless, because I know the crowd factor. I would pop my pecs for the crowd while I drew Simon live, and I'd win the show. It wouldn't even be fair, I'm proud to tell you. I'd probably dance in between. I would throw all my talents in it, and they would just be like, 'This guy's undefinable, so he wins.'
I feel like you probably learned that shirtless bit in the locker room. Everything really does come from the locker room, doesn't it?
Absolutely be shirtless and telling a joke. You can't hide. You gotta go for it.
How does it feel for Everybody Hates Chris, which was early in your career, to be rebooted as an animated show?
It feels like it's never happened before. You know what I mean? The thing that, for me, blows my mind, is when you look at The Simpsons, you know those were characters that were created that the voices were attached to. But here you have a show that has already been loved and established, and it's not even a reboot. What it is is a continuation. Like we literally, when we did our four seasons, we got 88 episodes. We were still lucky to get syndicated. We felt like there were more stories to tell. There was a whole lot more left, and we were left disappointed. And that's another thing. It's almost like a friend died, and you realize 20 years later, no, he didn't die. He's still alive. In fact, he's coming over. And that is how I feel. And getting the opportunity to do this again with Chris Rock and Tichina Arnold, I mean, I think it's rare, but again, it's one of those perfect storms. It shows there's no rules. It does show the quality of what we did in the beginning. I have to say, I have been floored by the acceptance of things I've done in the past that have all of a sudden become bigger and bigger and bigger now, movies like Idiocracy, which has kind of taken over stuff like White Chicks, who every summer, people have discovered that movie. Every summer, a new 13-year-old girl discovers White Chicks, and it becomes their favorite movie. They have parties every summer. And it's funny, because you're talking about stuff 20 years ago, all of a sudden you go, 'Oh, my God, this is so beautiful.' And it makes me really, really appreciative, because it makes me know that we were doing a good job. Because you want to know that you had an impact. You know it's not going to go to the Oscars, but to me, the fact that people still know you and love you and want to see it 20 years later, I think it's better than an Oscar.
And again, there's that validation. And that you had the instinct back in the locker room to listen to that inner voice, to lean into it.
Listen, I just truly appreciate everything. I'm just getting started, by the way, I'm here to tell you, man, this is not a look backward. It's really about looking forward. For me, the best thing that has ever happened in my career has not happened yet. And that's for real. And I can't wait. This is like a whole new start for me at this age, at this time in my life. Look at Jamie Lee Curtis and how she's just rocking it out right now. You look at people who can really hit their prime now, at the stage they're at. Because a lot of times youth is celebrated, but there's no replacing all that experience.
And it's really about being real, and Jamie Lee Curtis is as real as they come.
Back in the day it was about not showing who you were. I mean, dude, I had friends who pretended they weren't married, just because they thought, 'If somebody finds out I'm married, my career is over.' You got to live a real life. And I said, 'I am a father and husband first.' I don't want to live like that. I don't want to live this thing where we're all about the image and not about the person. I'm human, warts and all. I think that's the big thing about social media, everybody decided, wait a minute, these people are normal.
