Terry Crews credits his statuesque body and a stroke of luck with launching his acting career two decades ago.
To many, the 6’2′ former NFL player appeared out of nowhere in 2004 when he was cast as one of the leads in the comedy film “White Chicks.” Crews, on the other hand, had one of his most well-known acting appearances two years previously, in the third chapter of rapper-actor Ice Cube’s “Friday” serial.
The unexpected history of how Crews came to be in the right location at the right time to land the position was told by comedian DC Curry, who portrayed Uncle Elroy to Cube’s character Craig in the flicks.
“We was shooting, I think it was ‘Friday After Next,’ and Tiny [Tommy Lister Jr. who played Deebo] was having some confrontations, so the producer went out to get the director,” shared Curry while appearing on the “The Big Tigger Morning Show.” Curry went on to explain how Lister’s outburst ultimately cost him his role in the film. “He [the director] said, ‘Man go get Cube.’ Cube came out of his trailer and had his little exchange with Tiny. Tiny was, you know, acting up.”
Despite the absence of Lister, the film still required a physically dominating male role to oppose Cube and his co-star Mike Epps’ personas. Crews were not far away, which was fortunate for the production.
“Terry Crews was the valet for us, he was out there parking cars in a little tiny shirt, muscles sticking out everywhere. Ice Cube went out of the parking lot and asked Terry Crews, ‘Hey can you act?’ Crews said ‘Yeah,’ and that was the beginning of Terry’s movie career,” recalled Curry.
While Crews has not stated how he got to be cast in the film, he has publicly discussed his beginnings in the industry. In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2020, Crews revealed, “My switch into acting came out of necessity.” “I went broke after moving to LA to work behind the scenes in the entertainment industry.”
Crews is presently the presenter of “America’s Got Talent,” which has helped him become even more well-known, in addition to his various film and television performances.
