Terry Crews

Terry Crews
Crews in July 2013
Born	(1968-07-30) July 30, 1968 Flint, Michigan, United States
Occupation	Actor, football player
Years active	1991–1997 (football) 1999–present (acting)
Spouse(s)	Rebecca King (m. 1990)
Children	4
Website	Official website
Football career
No. 51, 90, 94
Position:	Defensive end / Linebacker
Personal information
Height:	6 ft 2.5 in (1.89 m)
Weight:	245 lb (111 kg)
Career information
High school:	Flint Southwestern Academy
College:	Western Michigan
NFL Draft:	1991 / Round: 11 / Pick: 281
Career history
Los Angeles Rams (1991) San Diego Chargers (1993) Rhein Fire (1995) Washington Redskins (1995) Philadelphia Eagles (1996)*
* Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 32 Tackles: 57 Assists: 38 Player stats at NFL.com

Terry Alan Crews (born July 30, 1968)^[1] is an American actor and former American football player. He currently stars as NYPD Sergeant Terry Jeffords in the Fox sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

In football, Crews played as a defensive end and linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Los Angeles Rams, the San Diego Chargers and the Washington Redskins, as well as in the World League of American Football with Rhein Fire.

As an actor, Crews has played Julius on the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris and Nick Kingston-Persons in the TBS sitcom Are We There Yet? He has also been the host of the syndicated game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and starred in the BET reality series The Family Crews. He has also appeared in a number of films, including White Chicks, Idiocracy, and the Expendables series.

Early life

Crews was born in Flint, Michigan, the son of Patricia and Terry Crews Sr.^[2] He grew up in a strict Christian household, where he was raised mainly by his mother.^[3] After earning his high school diploma from Flint Southwestern Academy, he received a Chrysler-sponsored art scholarship at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan, which was followed by an Art Excellence scholarship and a full-ride athletic scholarship for football at Western Michigan University. As a defensive end for the WMU Broncos, Crews earned All-Conference honors and won the 1988 Mid-American Conference Championship.

Career

American football

Crews was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the 11th round of the 1991 NFL Draft.^[4] His career included stints with the Rams, the San Diego Chargers, the Washington Redskins, and the Philadelphia Eagles.

Acting

After retiring from the NFL in 1997, Crews moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career. He had held a long-standing ambition to work in the film industry, but up until then had had no plans to pursue acting, simply wanting to be involved in some way. A year earlier he had co-written and co-produced the independent feature film Young Boys Incorporated, filmed in Detroit. Self-funded, it had an anti-drug message, and drew on some his own observations of friends and family. Despite describing it as a "horrible" film, he credits the experience with getting him interested in the industry.^[5]

In 1999 Crews auditioned for a role as a character athlete (known as Warriors) in the syndicated game show Battle Dome, which became his first acting part. He played "T–Money" for two seasons until its cancellation in 2001. The experience of auditioning gave him the realisation that acting, i.e. performing for an audience, was the direction he wanted his career to take, however he failed to land another acting job for the following two years.^[6]

Appearances in commercials, films and music videos soon followed.^[5] His break out role came in Friday After Next starring Ice Cube, for whom Crews had previously worked as an on-set bodyguard.^[7][8] Having never taken acting classes, he instead simply asked himself what the audience wanted, and believes this ultimately brought him success. He now believes acting is what he was born to do and would not wish to have any other career, despite the physically demanding nature of the work.^[5]

Based on his performance in White Chicks, in 2004 Adam Sandler changed a role in The Longest Yard to give it to Crews, who had auditioned for another part in the film.^[5] His role as Julius, the father on the UPN/CW sitcom on Everybody Hates Chris brought Crews wider public recognition, airing for four seasons from 2005 until 2009.^[8] Since Everybody Hates Chris, Crews has had main roles as the husband/father Nick Kingston-Persons in the TBS sitcom Are We There Yet?, which aired for three seasons from 2010 to 2013, and as NYPD Sergeant Terry Jeffords in the ensemble cast of the Fox sitcom Brooklyn Nine–Nine, which premiered in 2013 and was renewed for a fourth season in 2016.

Crews has largely appeared in comedic roles, although he also later found success in action roles beginning with his part as Hale Caesar in The Expendables series, which saw him make his first appearance in a film sequel. Having maintained an athletic physique into his acting career, Crews has been able to avoid being type-cast as a muscle bound action hero, and has instead been able to attain critical success through exploiting the contrast of his elaborate character comedy with his physique, which extends to the point of even mocking the stereotype of the gym obsessive body builder. This contrast has also led to sustained work as part of various noted humourous Old Spice TV commercials.^[7][9][10]

Having appeared in voice acting roles in animated productions, such as American Dad! and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Crews found he enjoyed the work and sought out more of it, finding satisfaction in how it carries his spirit into the animation.^[8]

Crews cites the many similarities between acting and professional football, including the structure and expectations, as helping his transition between the two careers. He credits Reginald Hubbard with mentoring him in his early career in the film business.^[5]

Other television

In 2010-11, Crews starred in his own reality series on BET, The Family Crews, about his everyday life with his family. It ran for two seasons.

From 2014-15, Crews hosted the syndicated game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Artist

According to Crews, his first job in the entertainment industry was as a courtroom sketch artist in Flint, Michigan.^[11] He later performed the role for the local station, WJRT.^[12] During his football career, Crews supplemented his income by producing portraits of fellow players, and in some cases this was his primary income stream which he depended on to feed his family, typically earning $5,000 for a two-month commission. His work included a series of NFL licensed lithographs.^[5] His NFL portraits have drawn comparisons to the work of Daniel A. Moore.^[11] Crews believes his imaginative side has transferred itself to his film work.^[5]

Personal life

Crews married Rebecca King, a former beauty queen and gospel singer, in 1990. They have three daughters, Azriel (born 1990), Tera (born 1999), and Wynfrey (born 2004), and one son, Isaiah (born 2007). Crews has one step-daughter and granddaughter from his wife's previous relationship, Naomi (born 1989).

Crews is a Christian.^[13][14] He is also a hobby painter and sketch artist, as well as an avid PC gamer and YouTube content creator.^[12]

In 2014, Crews released his autobiography, Manhood: How to Be a Better Man or Just Live with One.^[15] In the book, Crews made public details of his long standing addiction to pornography, which he relayed had seriously impacted his marriage and his life, and which he was only able to overcome around 2009 and 2010 after entering rehabilitation; he now takes an active role in speaking out about the condition and its impact.^[16][17][18]

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Video games

Accolades

References

External links

• Official website
• Terry Crews at the Internet Movie Database
• BET Shows - The Family Crews Website
• Just Sports Stats