Terrence Howard had the opportunity to play two legendary maynes in their respective biopics, but in the end, he didn’t do either project.
During a recent appearance on the Club Random podcast on April 27, Howard talked to host Bill Maher about the offers he received to represent two Motown greats on screen.
The actor told a story about Smokey Robinson inviting him to dinner years ago because “he wanted me to play his life” in a film, admitting that turning down the role was his biggest regret.
According to Howard, 56, he turned it down because he was already in early talks with Lee Daniels to portray Marvin Gaye in another biopic.
Maher seemed excited by that prospect, insisting Howard made the right choice because Gaye’s life story is “much more interesting.”
“You would’ve been perfect as Marvin Gaye, and that is a story that needs to be told,” the host assured Howard.
But, in the end, Howard didn’t actually play either role, stepping back from playing Gaye upon discovering Daniels’ plans to explore questions around the late singer’s sexuality.
“I was over at Quincy Jones’ house and I’m asking Quincy, ‘I’m hearing rumors that Marvin was gay’ and I’m like, ‘Was he gay?,’” Howard recalled. “And Quincy’s like, ‘Yes.’”
That’s when Terrence admits that he wouldn’t have been able to “fake” it and play an allegedly gay man.
“They would’ve wanted to do that, and I wouldn’t have been able to do that,” he explained.
“You mean you couldn’t kiss a guy on screen in a movie?” Maher asked, to which Howard replied, “No. Because I don’t fake it.”
The Empire alum didn’t stop there, adding, “That would f**k me. I would cut my lips off. If I kissed some man, I would cut my lips off.”
Howard also went on to clarify that “It does not make me homophobic to not want to kiss a man,” before further explaining why it’s a role he would never take on.
“I can’t play that character 100 percent,” he expressed. “I can’t surrender myself to a place that I don’t understand.”
During his lifetime, Gaye never explicitly confirmed or denied his sexuality. He was married to Anna Gordy for 10 years and to Janis Hunter for five years, never publicly being linked to another man. However, in a 2018 interview with Vulture, the late Quincy Jones appeared to confirm that Gaye once had a relationship with Hollywood star Marlon Brando, who openly talked about his sexual experiences with men.
“Brando used to go cha-cha dancing with us. He could dance his ass off. He was the most charming motherf***er you ever met,” Jones said at the time. “He’d f**k anything. Anything! He’d f**k a mailbox. James Baldwin. Richard Pryor. Marvin Gaye.”
Check out Terrence Howard’s full comments in the video up above.
