Terrence Howard

Thanks to the buzz over his films Crash and Hustle & Flow, Terrence Howard had a career breakthrough in 2005 after more than a decade of stand-out performances in television and feature films. Howard began getting small roles in TV shows in the early 1990s. His appearances in feature films such as Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) and The Best Man (1999) earned Howard a reputation as a scene-stealer and up-and-comer, but for years he was never quite an overnight sensation, in spite of sturdy performances in The Players Club (1998, directed by Ice Cube), Hart's War (2000, with Bruce Willis) and Biker Boyz (2003, starring Laurence Fishburne). Then came critical raves for his performances in the cable TV movie Lackawanna Blues, the Sundance Film Festival favorite Hustle & Flow (for which he earned an Oscar nomination), Paul Haggis's Crash (2005) and projects with hip-hop stars Outkast and 50 Cent.