Americas Got Talent Host Terry Crews On The Goal That Has Driven His Artistic Career: “I Wanted People To See Me, And See What Was Possible”

A multifaceted and tenacious talent 20 years into his screen career, Terry Crews has always defied the efforts of others to put him in a certain box. A former NFL player who moved to Los Angeles in 1997 to pursue acting, Crews built a career with a specific mission in mind. “I wanted people to see me, and see what was possible,” the actor says. “Im telling you man, it took a long time to get here. Im 50 years old, and now Ive actually changed the way people could see people like me.”

When Crews came to Hollywood, he knew he looked like no one hed seen on screen. And as a tall, muscular and athletic individual, typecasting was a force with which to contend. “Its one of those things where everyone tells you the right way to go. So many people tried to put me into action movies. You could be this kind of action star, where youre killing a bunch of people,” he reflects. “But I was like, I like being funny.”

Because of the way he looked, Crews had to fight for the opportunity to demonstrate his comedic chops. “Someone told me a long time ago, Terry, you really changed it, because muscle was always considered not funny. Even in comedic circles, they were like, Once you get in shape, youre not funny anymore,” the actor explains. “But I always wanted to be like, No, you can find comedy in anything.”

Forging his own path, Crews ultimately proved himself to be the consummate comedic talent, showcasing his skills most recently throughout six seasons of the Golden Globe-winning sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

Driven by his love of a challenge, Crews has never stopped branching out to pursue new forms of creative expression, setting his sights in recent years on the realm of reality television. Dipping his toe into those waters as host of series like Ultimate Beastmaster, Worlds Funniest, and Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Crews was invited last year to host Americas Got Talent: The Champions, a new spin-off of NBCs Emmy-nominated reality competition program.

This year, though, Crews has reached his own personal summit, succeeding Tyra Banks as host of the flagship series—“the biggest talent show in the world.” A tour de force, Crews proved once again, to himself and others, that no vision is unattainable, when passion is met with strategy, and a lot of hard work.

What inspired you to get into reality television, and continue down that path with Americas Got Talent?

First of all, you have to know one thing about me—the term unicorn has been thrown around. I realized a long time ago that I couldnt just have a career; I had to make one. There were things that were not accessible to me, simply because of how I looked, what people assumed. Everyone was like, “Oh, he cant do that,” so I went out of my way to make sure everybody realized that I could.

As an actor, things can be a little limiting. You wait for them to pick you, and its always been this way my whole career, because I dont fit anywhere. When you have great actors like Steve Carrell or Adam Sandler, they look like the normal guy, so you can slide them into anything. But I dont. So, its always been a thing where there were no roles made for you. Everything Ive ever done has always been one of those things where people go, “You know what? If you hadnt done it, I didnt know it even existed.”

So, a few years ago, I went out of my way to start hosting. This was all a part of my nefarious plan. When I started hosting the daytime version of Millionaire, I did 197 episodes, all on the East Coast, and then flew back and did Brooklyn Nine-Nine at the same time. Because I wanted to learn it. I wanted to know it. It was hard, but I would go to bed really peaceful. And when you love what you do, the energy is there.

Then, I hosted Worlds Funniest. I started hosting New Years Eve [Live] for Fox, and the one for NBC with Carson Daly. I made sure that people saw me on The Today Show, really being able to expound on subjects, and just go. I even hosted like the 1000th episode of Cops, [taking] any kind of opportunity, because you want to be able to be thrown into any scenario and keep things moving on.

What was crazy was that you wondered if it worked, and then I get the call to do Champions. I had no idea they were thinking about making a spin-off, and it all timed up. Now, Ive always been a fan of Americas Got Talent. This is where I always saw myself, because Im not a comedian. Im a comedic actor, so I never get comedy on stage. But Im a stage hound; Im a big ham. I love the live aspect—the crowd and the energy—and most of the time when I do a TV show, you have to wait two months for it to come out. Or if you do a movie, youve got to wait a year. Im the kind of guy who would sneak in the back of theaters and watch the audiences reactions, because I need it, and this right here fulfills me in every way.

What was your experience on Champions like, as your introduction to the AGT franchise?

My experience doing Champions was unreal. Here, I had the worlds biggest acts. It was the Olympics of talent. But the sports analogy is really perfect, because this replaced, for me, the NFL. The only reason you play football is for cheers. You dont play football for the money; its literally for when you cross that goal line.

The crowd, the energy, theres nothing like that. You get hooked on it, and since I retired from the NFL, I hadnt had it. This is why most athletic stars want to jump into entertainment, because it feels the same, but they cant do it a lot of times. So, I was so blessed to get this—to move not only to film and television, but into the hosting genre, which gives me that—with no knee injuries, no concussions. Its all love.

From your perspective, what sets Americas Got Talent apart from other reality competition series?

Its the perfect family show. Ive been married going on 30 years, with five kids and a grandbaby, and Americas Got Talent is played nonstop in our house, because its the only show you can watch and actually be inspired. There are plenty of reality shows that Ill watch, and Ill feel like I need a shower. And thats just real. But never with Americas Got Talent. And to see the stars that they made…Actually, there were a couple times during the season where I was in tears on stage, and I couldnt hold it. Because its that emotional. Its that real.

You must have witnessed some incredible talent on set, throughout your career. Which collaborators have really wowed you personally?

Youre only as good as the people you work with, and I have been blessed to work with the best from the beginning. My first movie was with Arnold Schwarzenegger, on The 6th Day. Then, I went on to do a movie with Ice Cube, who started so many careers, from Bernie Mac, to Jamie Foxx, Chris Tucker. Nobody would be here if it wasnt for Ice Cube. Ive done movies with Tyler Perry; [theres] Chris Rock, who did Everybody Hates Chris; all the guys from Saturday Night Live. And then Andy Samberg, Andre Braugher—when youre standing next to these guys, you get better. You learn whats good. Its funny because when Lord and Miller directed our pilot for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, you started to see the correlations between people who are successful, and who arent. They just got the Oscar for Spider-Man, and you go, “Theres something to these guys.” Some people are one-hit wonders, and theres others whove got it.

And Ill be honest with you: You just steal. When I look at [former AGT host] Nick Cannon, when I look at Tyra, I want to be a mix of both of them, because they did it wonderfully.

What lessons did you bring to your work on Americas Got Talent, from your experiences hosting in the past?

The biggest lesson Ive learned is that you have to enjoy the mistakes. The deal is, if you did it perfect, everybody would be bored to tears. Thats it.Read More – Source