Terrence Howard revealed in a recent interview that he only made $12,000 for the 2005 blockbuster hit “Hustle & Flow” despite the film making $22 million at the box office.
Howard was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance as Djay, a pimp and aspiring rapper living in Memphis, Tennessee. The well-known actor opened up about his pay while appearing on WREG News Channel 3 during an interview that aired on Nov. 7.
“Hustle & Flow” also stars Taraji P. Henson, Anthony Anderson and Taryn Manning. When asked if he knew that the film would be so transformative when he was making the movie, Howard said he did not, while noting that he was only paid $12,000 for his work.
The 54-year-old entertainer also revealed that Paramount credited his character, DJay, with the performance titles instead of the actor, resulting in Howard not getting his due for performing the music in the film.
“No, check this out,” he said. “I made $12,000 for doing ‘Hustle & Flow.’ And then on top of it, what Paramount did, instead of putting my name as ‘Terrence Howard performing the songs’, they put ‘performed by DJay.’ Well, they owned DJay, so guess what? The performance royalties went to Paramount.”
Howard explained that he was struggling to pay his rent at the time when he took the role. But he planned to sue the movie studio and send a letter stating that he is owed “About 20 years worth of residuals and performance royalties.”
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Not only did Howard say he received low pay for “Hustle & Flow,” he also said he was only paid a few thousand for another critically acclaimed film he starred in, “Crash.”
“I made $6,000 doing ‘Crash,'” he added, noting that actors aren’t always paid enough for their work and referencing the recent Screen Actors Guild strike.
“The business don’t pay actors anything that’s why the strike is going on. Actors are struggling.” The SAG strike ended on Nov. 9 after the studios agreed to pay actors residual payments from streaming services.
Journalist Alex Coleman didn’t miss a beat when he replied, “It’s hard out here for a pimp,” the name of the title track for the hit film. The Three 6 Mafia song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
“Yeah, it is hard. Unless you do it right,” said Howard. “And I’ve never been good at being a pimp.”
In an effort to help other actors and entertainers get bookings, Howard discussed the app MyHolly, which he and his wife Mira Howard created, that allows users to audition for roles right from the app.
Fans reacted to the news with shock including one who replied, “12,000?!! It’s literally hard outchea fo a pimp!”
Two others said, “Bro acted his soul out and made 2 dollars,” and “12k and 6k for some cultural classics is INSANE.”
One individual noted the entertainment industry often doesn’t pay certain actors their due. “The Lucious Lyon I KNEW would’ve gotten his money, one way or another,” they wrote, referencing Howard’s role as a ruthless record mogul on the Fox series “Empire.”
One final commentator said, “He lost his iron man job because he asked to get paid too. Hollywood isn’t fair at all, especially to actors like Terrence Howard.”
The “Best Man” star played Colonel James Rhodes in the 2008 Marvel movie “Iron Man” and received $4.5 million for his role. Despite claims that he signed a three-movie deal, Howard was replaced by the second film with actor Don Cheadle. He later alleged that he was “pushed” out of the film series and received no help from his “friend,” the film’s lead actor Robert Downey Jr.
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