September was a big month for Terry Crews, who is celebrating his 25th anniversary in Hollywood this year. American Gladiators-Style competition show Battle Dome in 1999. The role of T-Money was a perfect fit for the America’s Got Talent (AGT) Moderator’s dream of one day being an action movie star, a goal that came true again with his role in his longtime friend Dave Bautista’s action comedy. The murderer’s game.
Crews plays assassin Creighton Lovedahl in the JJ Perry-directed film, which was released on September 13. Crews and Perry previously worked together on 2014’s The Expendables 3. Based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Jay Bonansinga. The murderer’s game centers on a skilled assassin (Bautista) trying to survive an assassination attempt on himself after he is mistakenly diagnosed with a fatal illness. The film also stars Sofia Boutella and Ben Kingsley, actors Crews has long been a fan of.
“To be in a movie like this with these guys – there haven’t been many movies like this made – and I’m so honored that we’ll be one of the few movies that’s in theaters now,” says Crews The Hollywood Reporter.
The actor will also return to cable television when Everyone still hates Christhe animated sequel to the live-action series from UPN/CW Everyone hates Chris, premiered on Comedy Central on Wednesday. The project is based on the life of Chris Rock and was a reunion of sorts for Crews, who now voices the character of Chris’ hard-working father Julius Rock, whom he played on the sitcom from 2005 to 2009 along with many of the original cast members.
Below, Crews speaks with THR about the willingness to portray an action star in The murderer’s gameto breathe new life into the character of Julius in Everyone still hates Chris and his hopes for his acting legacy.
How did you get the role of Lovedahl and what can you tell us about your character in The murderer’s game?
Dave and I have known each other for years, even back when UPN was around and he was doing wrestling on the channel and I Everyone hates Chris. There was almost a slim chance that if I hadn’t been an actor, I would have ended up in the wrestling world myself, so we became friends – I like to say back when we still had hair – and we always admired each other. Every time we saw each other in town, we would say, “We have to do something,” and Dave would always look at me and say, “But it has to be really badass,” and I would say, “You know that.”
Dave put this movie together and I get the call and he’s like, “It would be perfect for you to play this Lovedahl character,” and I jumped at the chance. I love action comedies; action comedies are my thing. And I thought this is a really good chance for me to play the baddest guy ever. He’s like a throwback to the old school. I’m in my mid-50s and Lovedahl is this guy you’d see in a blaxploitation movie in the ’70s. He’s the guy who lives there, and he romanticized that whole era. And for him, people don’t have enough style. They don’t understand music. He’s always the coolest guy in the room. That’s what I love. … Also, spoiler alert: I’m not dying, thank God. I want to see a sequel.
You have always been in impeccable form in public. Did you need any special training for this role?
Um, no. (Laughs.) I heard that and hung it on my wall: “Stay ready so you don’t have to prepare.” I’ve always found that most of my opportunities in any industry — TV, film, hosting — have come from being ready when my time comes. Dave put that movie together and I got the call and I was ready. It would be different if I had said, “Man, wait. You got to give me a year to get in shape and all that stuff.” That would have left me. But because I was already ready, I was able to just pick up the gun and go for it. I can’t tell you how many ways that’s happened to me. Just by being in shape, being prepared, being rested. That means a lot. And never burning the candle at both ends. It’s my nightmare to have the opportunity of a lifetime and be too tired to take it. I always save my energy for my dreams, for the things I want to do, and one of my biggest dreams is to be an action star, to be a movie star, to be part of projects like this. You just have to believe in it, and when you’re ready, it comes to you.
Tell us when you were first approached with the idea, Everyone hates Chris back as an animated series, and what was your immediate reaction?
First of all, Tichina (Arnold) and I both saw it in a blurb on Deadline that Chris was thinking about doing it. And I asked Tichina, “Did anyone approach you?” and she said, “No, did anyone approach you?” I said, “No, we can’t let this happen without us.” And we waited a long time, it was like, well, maybe it will happen, maybe it won’t, and we were in the middle of the pandemic when everything started rolling, and they found a showrunner in Sanjay Shah who was incredible. We all met over Zoom because we couldn’t all be together, but it was the most amazing reunion. Chris Rock, Tichina Arnold, Ernest Lee Thomas, Jackée Harry, Jacqueline Mazarella – all the characters from Everyone hates Chris who could come back. It was just beautiful.
And then we had the new people, Tim Johnson Jr., who plays Chris, and Drew (Terrence Little Gardenhigh) and Tonya (Ozioma Akagha). The new people were so incredible to me. They grew up with the show, because the show is 20 years old, and it blew us away. We realized the impact it had. So it was like this was really happening. Because we weren’t done telling the story. We got four years and there was so much more we wanted to say and do, but we got canceled. We thought, ‘That’s it, this is never coming back.’ And to walk away from a character and then start this new life, I feel like the luckiest man in Hollywood.
What is the tone of the new series, does it pick up where things left off or does it go in a completely different direction?
You know, a lot of people say it’s a reboot, but it’s not. It’s actually a sequel. It’s a continuation. It picks up right where the last episode was, and we go right into the next minute. That’s what I love about the show, and the tone is incredible. What everyone loved about the first show we did live was all these fantastical elements. There were these cuts and really crazy things we could do. And in animation now, we could go as far as we wanted. There were no limits to how far we could go for a joke. And it’s hilarious. I read those scripts and we were just in tears. And now we have two generations that can enjoy this show. Those who watched it before and grew up with it, and now the new (audience). I would advise anyone to go back and watch the first four seasons and then start again with the new one. Everyone still hates Chris.
The animated reboot of Good times was not well received by the audience. Is there anything that fans of Everyone hates Chris What should we expect from the new series?
With Good timesit wasn’t the same show. And no matter what people thought of it – good or bad – it was more of a reboot. But with us, it’s the same show, down to the sets, down to the people – Tyler James Williams couldn’t do it because he’s an adult – but it’s the same writers. We literally have the same writers that wrote on the first show, which makes it even more iconic. I was like, “Wow!” I went in to do my speaking scenes for the character and saw people I hadn’t seen in 20 years. It’s our Show. You’ll hear those voices, close your eyes and say, “Oh my God, this is it. We’re back.”
They appeared regularly in three consecutive television series, each with over 100 episodes. Everyone hates Chris to be one of them, together with Are we there yet? And Brooklyn Nine-NineDo you think such a feat could be repeated in today’s entertainment climate?
No, I don’t. I’m really into it. I’ve done so much on TV, and it’s kind of like a band. You know, will bands ever tour again? It’s just different. I’m not saying it’s better or worse, but it’s different. Nowadays, sitcoms get 10 episodes a season, and then there’s two seasons, and then they’re gone. Brooklyn Nine-Nine ran for eight years, 22 episodes a year. That’s a lot of episodes. We got close to 200. But that’s what I love: that kind of experience made me a better actor and gave me more confidence, because by practicing what you love, you get better. Sometimes I feel a little sad for the people who, after 10 episodes, never get to develop their characters properly. And I’m sure they want more. That’s what I care about. I feel more for the actors.
We made four seasons of Everyone hates Chris and we weren’t done yet. We wanted to tell more. And I feel like there’s such a small window of time to tell a whole story. That would be hard for me. That’s why it’s hard for me to just get back into sitcoms. But with Everyone still hates Chriswe’re already getting 20 episodes. We’re really doing what we used to do and I’m grateful for the animation. I understand the cost, but I’m grateful that we can still do what we do and that we’re still alive to do it. Working with Tichina and Chris is a dream. It’s so nice for us to be back and I think everyone is going to be so pleasantly surprised. It’s going to be very satisfying.
You are celebrating your 25th anniversary as an actor in Hollywood. What do you think is your legacy and what do you ultimately want it to be?
I would like my legacy to be that he gave everything he had to every role he got, because you can never blame Terry Crews for giving everything in the mail. Love him or hate him, this guy gave everything he got, from Old Spice to AGTYou can’t accuse me of being boring. You may not like it, but you won’t be bored, I can tell you that. I love giving it my all and serving people. As an actor, I feel it’s a privilege and an honor to serve people and make them happy, make them feel emotions, make them feel scared if you’re a villain. If you’re dramatic, you make people sad. There’s a wonderful power in making people feel and process emotions. That’s my job, and I love, love, love this job. I want my legacy to be that he did it with all his heart.
Everyone still hates Chris Premieres on Comedy Central on Wednesday, September 25, at 10 p.m.
