Don Cheadle’s a fine actor, but that doesn’t mean I’m not remiss to Terrence Howard’s departure from Iron Man 2 in 2009. Cheadle turned out fine in what was a pretty lacking effort, and yet Howard’s presence was still sorely missed. Howard was just a better, cooler Jim Rhodes and, in truth, had much better on-screen chemistry with series star Robert Downey Jr.
Howard’s career and personal life have taken some hits in the years since Iron Man, a film in which he was the highest paid among the cast. After a public divorce, a divergence into an ill-timed music career, and Red Tails, Howard seems to now be righting the course somewhat appearing in projects like Dead Man Down. After years of taking the high-road, he’s speaking more honestly about his leaving what’s proven to be a rather lucrative franchise. Surprise, surprise: Marvel’s stinginess played a part. Via Sway in the Wind:
“[I was paid] about $4.5m [for the first film],” said Howard. “The second time, [the studio] said ‘We think the movie will be successful with or without you. So, instead of the $8m that we said we were gonna pay you, we’re going to let you come back for a million dollars.’
“We did a three-picture deal already, [but] I forgot, I didn’t know it wasn’t a mutually binding contract; it was only beneficial for them and they could bring me back or not. They can honour it or not.”
He goes on to take a more aggressive tact with the Huff Post, revealing a hint of bitterness in the process:
“Worst thing I witnessed was ‘Iron Man’ killing my career,” Howard said with a laugh when questioned by Hollywood.com about the worst thing he ever saw.
“I chose not to fight back, not to deal with the allegations, but to continue forward and do what I had to do. I had to start all over: went from making $6 million a movie, back to $60 thousand a movie. But as long as you don’t give up you are able … I’ll make $20 million soon. Because I have learned the lessons of yesterday.”
It all worked out from Marvel’s perspective, and it’s pretty revealing that Howard was the hottest commodity among the cast back in 2008. One senses there’s still some ugliness on Howard’s part, and it’s a shame to see the career of a talented actor fall into a slump like Howard’s has. One wonders if the coming onslaught of Iron Man 3 hasn’t dredged up some this negativity. Still, it’s not all bad. All of this Iron Man tomfoolery led me to discovering this little ditty of awesome sauce:
Via Total Film.
10 comments
He was the bad guy in an episode of Hawai 50 a little while ago..weird.
While no doubt Marvel handled this poorly, I can’t say I really missed Howard from Iron Man 2. I think the only reason him and Downey Jr. had such good chemistry is because they were allowed to improvise more, and really, Iron Man 2 was just such a mess anyways. And while Cheadle is fine, I wish they at least tried to find someone that kind of looked like Howard, but oh well.
He recently got in trouble for talking very graphically about a sex scene he just did with Oprah of all people, and Oprah wasn’t to pleased with it. Following the gossip rags reveal that the reason his star fell so quickly was mainly due to him being a grade A diva on and off the set. And thats fine, who cares right? but if your diva antics cost more than your salary, your off the project. I think he’s very talented, but not amazingly so, and his absence from IRON MAN was not noticed by anyone, which is the most telling.
Bad behavior and hunky Terrence Howard go hand-in-hand. Rumor has it his “difficult” reputation might be the reason filmmakers decided to “go another way” and recast his role in “Iron Man 2,” but there’s no need to rely on rumors to make the jerk case for Howard. He seems happy enough to that himself. In an interview with Elle magazine, Howard revealed his preference for women who look like him (“Because the most beautiful thing in nature is your own reflection.”) and then followed that gem up his jaw-dropping relationship deal breaker. “Toilet paper — and no baby wipes — in the bathroom,” he insisted. “If they’re using dry paper, they aren’t washing all of themselves. It’s just unclean. So if I go in a woman’s house and see the toilet paper there, I’ll explain this. And if she doesn’t make the adjustment to baby wipes, I’ll know she’s not completely clean.”
http://www.today.com/id/28819435/ns/today-entertainment/t/hollywoods-hottest-celebrity-jerks/#.UUc8qRw3uSo
Tim Kelly, Don Cheadle is an…Upgrade over Terrence Howard, as Colonel Jim Rhodes!
That’s Terrence spelled C-L-A-S-S-Y.
duke fleed, I agree with you. Don Cheadle created a perfect WAR MACHINE!
He’s considered to be a good actor? Why? He’s mostly monotone and lifeless and often appears to be confused by the words he’s speaking.
This comment is the best thing I’ve read all day. Thank you.
With T.I. no less.
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