Terrence Howard Interview, Iron Man

MoviesOnline recently caught up with the very talented and versatile actor Terrence Howard and asked him about his role in the upcoming "Iron Man” which is currently in pre-production and slated to start shooting this month for release in 2008.

When billionaire industrialist and genius inventor Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is kidnapped and forced to build a devastating weapon, he uses his intelligence and ingenuity instead to build a high-tech suit of armor and escape his captors. Upon his return to the U.S., he uncovers a plot with global implications and must don his armor and protect the world as the heroic Iron Man based on the Marvel Comics character.

Here’s what Terrence had to tell us about "Iron Man” and his other upcoming projects:

Q: Can you talk about going into Iron Man which is a total fantasy world compared to this picture?

TH: Well, not when you’re working with Robert Downey Jr. There ain’t no fantasy there. (Laughs) You’re talkin’ about gettin’ ready for some action. You know what I love about him and Jon Favreau is you cannot predict who they are and what they’re thinking. And then you add Jeff Bridges to the mix. I still think he’s on that film that he did with Kevin Spacey, you know. He’s from another planet because he’s present but then he’s ahead of you at the same time and you’re trying to conversate with him. And then we got Gwyneth Paltrow, so there’s nothing fantastico about it. It’s like, ‘Alright, you said you wanted to be an actor?’ Every single one of these people has been nominated for or won an Academy Award. ‘So now let’s see what you’re made of.’

Q: Who’s your character in Iron Man?

TERRENCE HOWARD: I play a guy named James Rhodes who becomes a war machine. I’m a Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force and I’m liaison between Starks Enterprises and the military in the Department of Acquisitions.

Q: I heard there were some costume fittings on Iron Man recently. Have you seen any of the costumes and what do you think?

TERRENCE HOWARD: We didn’t do the costumes yet. I didn’t see them do any of Tony Stark’s costumes. But the outfits that these people had on were amazing. They looked beautiful in them. I took this role and I wanted to work with Robert Downey because he has a spontaneity and a fearlessness that I get close to, but I’m still very conservative and reserved in the choices I make. He doesn’t care. He just does it. He believes in jumping out of the air craft at 25,000 feet in the air and just going ‘whoooooooo’ all the way down. (Laughs) I want to learn that.

Q: We also talked to John Singleton recently. He’s a little frustrated with the development on Luke Cage.

TERRENCE HOWARD: I’m not in that.

Q: You’re done with that involvement?

TERRENCE HOWARD: [shakes head in the affirmative]

Q: Have you finished The Brave One?

TERRENCE HOWARD: Oh my God, The Brave One is incredible. It’s really, really great. I got a call from Alan Horn at Warner Brothers and Joel Silver and they were beyond themselves and I’m happy because Jodie Foster personally recommended me and said ‘I want him’ and I didn’t want to fail her.

Terrence Howard will be seen next in the upcoming "Pride,” directed by Sunu Gonera, based on the inspiring story of Jim Ellis, a charismatic schoolteacher in the 1970s who changed lives forever when he founded an African American swim team in one of Philadelphia’s roughest neighborhoods. Keep an eye out for our full interview with Terrence Howard about "Pride” that will appear soon.