He's still beaming over the early-morning revelation. Terrence Howard, 36, woke up last Tuesday to find that he had been nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for Hustle & Flow and that another film in which he co-starred, Crash, was up for Best Picture. He spoke to TIME's Desa Philadelphia about portraying a pimp so convincingly and why his success in Hollywood has been bittersweet.
YOU ARE BEING CALLED AN OVERNIGHT SUCCESS, BUT YOU'VE BEEN WORKING STEADILY FOR A LONG TIME. That's just the nature of this business. There are so many talented people here, and there are so many different machineries working for the other talents. It's a combination of luck and preparation in order for all this to happen. You know how many brilliant performances there were this year? But it's almost like what they say in [Paulo Coelho's] The Alchemist, "When you seek out your own personal legend, the universe conspires."
SO YOU DON'T BUY ANY OF THE TALK THAT BEING NOMINATED OR WINNING AN OSCAR DOESN'T MEAN MUCH IN TERMS OF FUTURE SUCCESS? No. You've got to think that for the rest of my career, the title of Academy Award nominee--and possibly winner--will always be there. That's a hell of a calling card. It's like when a doctor receives his degree. There's always that Dr. in front of his name.
WHAT KIND OF OFFERS HAVE YOU BEEN GETTING SINCE THESE MOVIES CAME OUT? Mostly more challenging roles. I used to tell executives and producers years ago, "When you find a character that you need but you just cannot find the right person to pull him off--if there is a dichotomy about him, some strange anomaly--that's when I want you to call me." I want to be the condensation on the glass. I want to be that phenomenon that takes place between hot and cold.
AND IT NOW FEELS AS THOUGH YOU'LL GET THOSE KINDS OF ROLES? Yes. They are already being offered. But a lot of it is now about creating. You've got to look at what George Clooney has done. Yeah, you can go and buy a car, rent a car or lease one. But there is nothing like designing your own vehicle. YOU PREPARED FOR YOUR OSCAR-NOMINATED ROLE IN HUSTLE & FLOW BY HANGING OUT WITH REAL-LIFE PIMPS. WHAT WERE THEY LIKE? Like you and me. People who had made bad choices in their lives, and sometimes the bad choices can follow you for a long way.
IN CRASH, YOU FACE DISCRIMINATION AS A YUPPIE TV DIRECTOR, WHICH IS WORLDS AWAY FROM THE PIMP YOU PLAYED. DID THAT MAKE YOU THINK ABOUT RACE IN HOLLYWOOD? We're all caught up under this umbrella of political correctness, which I truly believe is a front for bigotry because we don't learn about each other. Until people start being truly honest--that's when we'll be able to bring an end to the problems we see associated with race in Hollywood and the rest of the world.
YOU'RE GETTING DIVORCED, AND YOU'VE BEEN UP FRONT ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU'VE BEEN SO BUSY THIS YEAR THAT IT HAS AFFECTED YOUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS. DOES THAT MAKE YOUR SUCCESS BITTERSWEET? It stands as a warning sign to anyone who really wants to be successful in this business. There are many sacrifices you have to make. You have to have your family circle well balanced. You have to keep your family with you because there are so many changes that take place on a day-to-day basis that when you get back home after being gone for three months, you are not the same person and neither is she.