For us mere mortals who crave idols to worship from Hollywood, there has been no better gift than America’s sweetheart Terry Crews. What started as a job working locations security for an Ice Cube movie turned into a career as one of Hollywood’s most beloved actors, and he’s proven himself talented in more ways than one. These are Terry Crews’ best roles.
A real Jack of all trades, Terry Crews has come a long way since his days as a professional football player. After leaving the NFL, he worked his way up in Hollywood, from volunteering as an uncredited extra in Training Day alongside Denzel Washington to landing a surprise cameo in Marvel’s immensely successful Deadpool 2. When he isn’t gracing the big screen, Crews can be found on a number of hit TV series, and even between scenes in various commercials. Crews also revealed a few years ago that he’s an incredible artist—what can’t this guy do?
As if earning tens across the board in talent weren’t enough, Crews has also become a fan-favorite for his activism. Last October, while the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements were rapidly growing both online and in the real world, Crews revealed that he had also been a victim of sexual assault at the hands of a Hollywood executive the year prior. Crews was among the “Silence Breakers” who were named TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year for 2017, and has continued to use his platform to speak out against the questioning of victims’ stories.
With so much to offer both as an artist and an activist, it’s plain to see that Terry Crews deserves to be treasured and protected at all costs. Though we can’t thank him in person for being a shining light in our lives, we can admire him and his work from afar. For your convenience, we’ve put together this list of 10 of Terry Crews’ best roles.
10. 'Blended'
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Year: 2014
Role: Nickens
It’s no 50 First Dates, but Adam Sandler did make one good decision in making Blended, and that was casting Terry Crews as the singing, dancing showman who leads a band of performers to annoy characters at an African resort. If there’s any reason to watch this rom-com, it’s Crews’ ability to make every scene he’s featured in enjoyable. Bringing a much-needed touch of silliness and peck bouncing, Crews is in his element as an extravagant entertainer in very fashionable suits.
9. 'Friday After Next'
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Year: 2002
Role: Damon
In the third installment of the Friday movies, Crews plays an ex-convict who acts as the muscle for his landlord mother to get overdue rent payments from her tenants. One of his biggest roles early on in his career, Friday After Next was a big step up for Crews as an actor; he was recognized from his cameo in Training Day. Many of the comedic aspects of the role haven’t aged well, especially in relation to the #MeToo movement, which Crews recently acknowledged in an interview with GQ. In the same interview, Crews also explains how the scene of him dancing to Tupac’s “How Do You Want It” made it into the film, for any Friday heads out there.
8. Old Spice Commercials
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Year: 2010-present
Role: The Man You Could Smell Like
It’s true: being the star in a series of commercials isn’t exactly most actors’ idea of a “best role.” But Terry Crews’ collab with Old Spice in their series of viral ads is some of his most iconic work. Though his predecessor Isaiah Mustafa took a calm, sultry approach to selling deodorant, Crews’ campaign is more high intensity; he screams at you until you get off the couch to buy some damn body wash. Their opposing personalities led to another successful campaign that paired them together, and, while we love the original Old Spice guy, Crews’ work in the bonkers Old Spice universe is way more fun to watch.
7. 'The Longest Yard'
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Year: 2005
Role: Cheeseburger Eddy
In this remake of the 1974 football film, Crews plays an inmate who gets roped into playing in a football game against the prison’s correctional officers—but that’s not his character’s claim to fame. Much like Chris Rock’s character, who gets his hands on miscellaneous goods from the outside world, Crews’ character peddles food from McDonald’s to other inmates. There’s something beautiful and hilarious about watching Crews, a 6’3” man who is jacked beyond belief, pull McDoubles out of the pockets of his sweatpants without a hint of jest. He exquisitely delivered silly lines about chicken nuggets as a serious entrepreneur, and was a memorable personality in the film.
6. 'Idiocracy'
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Year: 2006
Role: President Camacho
Despite being a box-office bust, Idiocracy is a cult classic comedy that gave us another taste of Crews’ comedy chops. After waking up 500 years in the future to a society run by commercialism and completely devoid of intelligence, two people who participated in a science experiment are forced to navigate the rules of their new world. Crews plays President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho, the ignorant leader of a country run into the ground by outright stupidity (sounds familiar). It’s a mindless role that Crews pulled off without a hitch, bringing energy and flamboyance to a character with no redeemable qualities.
5. 'Sorry to Bother You'
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Year: 2018
Role: Sergio
The only thing better than seeing Terry Crews take part in one of the most talked-about movies of the year is seeing him with a full head of hair in said movie. Boots Riley’s latest film Sorry to Bother You features Crews as the uncle who houses his nephew, the film’s protagonist, Cassius (Lakeith Stanfield). Although the role is small, Crews has been vocal about his excitement in being involved with such a wildly different and progressive film.
4. 'The Expendables'
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Year: 2010
Role: Hale Caesar
Crews was perfectly suited to join the star-studded cast of this 2010 action movie, written and directed by Sylvester Stallone. Alongside career action stars like Jet Li and Jason Statham, Crews plays one of six elite mercenaries who take on a rogue ex-CIA agent and a Latin American dictator. His role as the weapons specialist and strongman of the group is pleasantly offset by his comic relief throughout the film, and it only makes sense that someone as brawny as Crews finally landed a role combining his physical strength with his strength as a comedic actor.
3. 'Everybody Hates Chris'
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Year: 2005-2009
Role: Julius
Crews took on the role of Chris Rock’s late father Julius in this sitcom based on the comedian’s life as a teenager. Narrated by Rock himself and set during the ‘80s, Everybody Hates Chris followed the trials and tribulations of a black teen and his family living in New York City, and perfectly used humor to criticize how race and class struggles are handled in America. Crews’ character was a hardworking family man who famously never let a penny go to waste, which explains why Crews keeps a photo of himself as Julius in his wallet to keep from overspending. Though the show only lasted four seasons, it was a staple in Crews’ television career, and he nailed the levelheaded yet exuberant role of Rock’s father.
2. 'White Chicks'
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Year: 2004
Role: Latrell Spencer
Ah, the film that changed how we listen to “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton forever. Crews’ role in the 2004 Wayans brothers film White Chicks was a breakout performance that launched his career as a comedy actor. Though the film follows Marlon and Shawn Wayans as FBI agents who are forced to go undercover as two blonde-haired white women, Crews is a frequent scene stealer, as a professional basketball player who falls in love with Marlon Wayans’ heiress persona. His comedic timing is spot-on throughout the film, from his off-putting one liners to that iconic scene of him singing in his convertible. Latrell Spencer was one over-the-top character, but Crews made his mark in Hollywood portraying him.
1. 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine'
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Year: 2013-present
Role: Sgt. Terry Jeffords
Nine-Nine! Since the series got picked up back in 2013, Crews has starred as Sergeant Jeffords, a yogurt-loving family man who’s just as tough as he is sensible. Following the antics of a group of dysfunctional but efficient New York detectives, it’s no surprise that the show was popular enough to get picked up by NBC after internet users protested its cancellation by FOX. Brooklyn Nine-Nine is just as hilarious as it is precise, and still manages to tackle subjects like racial profiling and mass shootings without trivializing them. Crews’ portrayal of the father figure-esque sergeant is perfectly offset by the often foolish escapades of his subordinates, and his work on the show has quickly become one of his most popular roles to date. Unsurprisingly, the role was written specifically for him, and creator Michael Schur purposely named the character Terry to get Crews on board. In the words of Jake Peralta, “Smort.”
