Top 111 Quotes & Sayings by Terry Crews

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American actor Terry Crews.
Last updated on November 21, 2024.
Terry Crews

Terry Alan Crews is an American actor, television host, and former American football linebacker. He played Julius Rock in the UPN/CW sitcom Everybody Hates Chris, which aired from 2005 to 2009, and portrayed Terry Jeffords in the Fox and NBC sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013–2021). Crews starred in the BET reality series The Family Crews (2010–2011), and hosted the U.S. version of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire from 2014 to 2015. He has appeared in films, including Friday After Next (2002), White Chicks (2004), Idiocracy (2006), Blended (2014), the Expendables series (2010–2014), and Rumble (2021). Crews began hosting America's Got Talent in 2019, following his involvement in the same role for the program's spin-off series America's Got Talent: The Champions.

I would never do 'Dancing With The Stars,' because it's just not fair. I am too good of a dancer. It would be like LeBron James playing little league basketball.
When I look at my family, that's all life means, right there.
I love doing great entertainment, but I like the joke to be on me. I don't want to take advantage of some poor person and dog 'em out and let the chips fall. — © Terry Crews
I love doing great entertainment, but I like the joke to be on me. I don't want to take advantage of some poor person and dog 'em out and let the chips fall.
I call myself the Amusement Park. That's because I'm funny and scary at the same time.
When you go back to 'Friends,' and you look at that as New York, there's no black people. That's not real. You're in New York City, and there's no black people at all. That's a little funny.
Oh, 'The Thing' is one of my favorite movies of all time. That changed my life because I was like, 'I've got to do this.' Something that scared me that much? It was the first R-rated movie I ever saw, and I was like, 'Dude, I'm changed.'
One character I always thought I could play is the Thing from 'Fantastic Four.' Another character I've always loved as a fan is Colossus. If there was a way to make that happen that worked, I would love to be Colossus.
I enjoy sports movies that don't sugarcoat. One thing that irritates me about sports movies is that they're like, 'The magic of the ball,' and 'The magic of the stadium.' It ain't that magical. When you get hit coming across the middle at 25 miles per hour, the magic's over.
I love the urban comedies, because they keep you famous, keep you having fun, and keep you in love with the business. Those are my roots. I'll always love doing those.
When you're black in Hollywood, you know, your first role is going to be on a crime drama. That's - everybody knows that.
It wasn't until after I became famous that people noticed I played in the NFL. I kind of snuck in!
The thing that you think is imperfect about you is the thing that makes you who you are. It separates you from everybody else. I have a scar on my lip, and for years I hated it. But now its become my thing. It's like, without it, I'm not me. You can't be perfect, so enjoy your imperfections. I can't stress that enough.
I'm actually a perpetual 13-year-old. I've never advanced beyond 13. Every day, tomorrow is my 14th birthday. That's my kind of humor. — © Terry Crews
I'm actually a perpetual 13-year-old. I've never advanced beyond 13. Every day, tomorrow is my 14th birthday. That's my kind of humor.
A guy I knew in high school got my number from my mom, called me up and was like, 'I can't believe I'm talking to you.' I was like, 'It's me - it's Terry; I went to high school with you! What do you mean?'
I feel like we need to make new superheroes, African-American superheroes, that people would accept.
I only have one rule: I don't do anything for money; that's my rule.
I told everyone I would never be an actor. People used to tell me, 'Hey, you got a good look. You should try.' And I was like, 'Nah. That's not me.' And then, the moment I tried it, I found I loved it more than anything in the world, and that taught me a lesson. That is, just go for it.
Buffalo rib-eye steaks, on the grill, is my favorite meal, seriously. It has less fat, more vitamins and more protein than beef. It is wonderful. Look, it was what the Indians ate, and they were very healthy. It's very good meat.
There's drama in everything. That's why I love movies. Like 'Welcome to the Dollhouse.' I'm a 350-pound black man, and I could understand what it was like to be a little white girl.
You can't do sports for the rest of your life; I don't care how good you are. You can be the best ever, but it's still going to go away.
I just want to say what a tremendous honor it is to be on a show like 'The Newsroom.' I've always dreamed of being on something this important and being on a show that really resonates with a lot of very, very intelligent people in the world, and I've gained such a loyal fan base.
I kind of rode this weird line between athlete and artist. It was a little different because most of the athletes were total jocks, and most of the artists dressed in black and were kind of considered a little on the fringe. But I hung out with both crowds in my high school.
I'm not a big prank guy, because I don't like them done to me. I've been on movies sets where one guys goes into his trailer, and then people move the stairs, and he comes out of his trailer, and there's no stairs. That's not funny! I don't want to be that guy!
You get better at working by working. And if you don't work, you're not getting better.
I was a sports nut. I stayed after school probably three hours every day - from fall, to winter, to spring. I went from football to basketball to track, and it started all over again. I loved all of it. I just loved being an athlete and all that it entailed. It really accounts for who I am today and even how I think today.
I am an official slow-roasted, honey-baked ham. Ever since I was a kid, my thing is that I love attention. All my report cards are like, 'He would be wonderful, but he just can't stop being a clown in class.'
I am a fan of all genres. My big thing is to serve the purpose of the script and what the director wants. If it's a comedy, I want to be funny; if it's action, I want to bring the action. If it's drama, I want to be the catalyst for that drama. That's the fun part; it never gets boring being an actor.
I have four daughters. A lot of the time, I don't allow myself to be in projects that objectify women.
When someone can, on a worldwide level, make someone laugh, that's power. A lot my heroes - Eddie Murphy, Will Ferrell, the Wayans, Adam Sandler - they get it. And I've always felt that Andy Samberg is the future of comedy.
Comedy needs to happen naturally and be in touch with the character. When you see that guy in your office that everybody laughs at, he doesn't think he's funny. He's just being him, and that's the joke.
To me, there were comedies that should go up for Oscars. I think Eddie Murphy in 'The Nutty Professor' was one of the greatest acting performances of all time, but it'd never be recognized that way. They always go for De Niro and Pacino, but Eddie Murphy played seven different people!
I'm a very physical actor; everything I do is pretty much body-oriented. I sometimes am able to deliver information just with a look; my face does two or three different things, and it says it all.
My thing is you're only as good as the people you work with. I've been blessed to work with the Wayanses and Eddie Murphy and Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, and it makes you better.
When I was a kid, I didn't have any girlfriends. I was a very nerdy-type dude. Believe me, being a ham does not turn girls on.
I always wanted to be that guy who pushed the envelope in all kind of ways and tried something new. When I keep that rule going, it always takes me to a new place. There are times when I fail miserably, but I always find myself knowing one more thing better, doing one more thing that I never did before.
I love what I do, and I don't think I'm the guy who can do, like, a movie a year and that's it. I don't know what I'd do! I've already put stuff independently on the Internet cause I'm bored! I just want to keep going!
Well, that embarrassment gene, I don't really have a lot of it.
I loved 'BattleDome.' It was the first thing I ever auditioned for, and I was so crazy in the audition that I knew I had the part. — © Terry Crews
I loved 'BattleDome.' It was the first thing I ever auditioned for, and I was so crazy in the audition that I knew I had the part.
When I retired from the NFL, no one knew who I was, and I had to start all over. I ended up doing security in L.A., and I was just on movie sets and watching.
A lot of people, especially comedians, just feel like, 'Oh, I can be charming and whatever, and have fun, and everybody is just going to like me.' But you've got to work. There's got to be a real work ethic that gets you better.
I just read 'The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.' To be married 25 years, you have to put as much energy as I put into being an actor or being a great football player into being a better husband and a better father.
I have had a very physical acting career, but on 'Newsroom,' it's not about physicality, but it's about presence. I get to just be. Strong, sensitive, quiet strength can be much more intimidating than the screaming loud guy, and I'm so glad to get to show this side of me, which, to be honest, is a lot like who I really am.
The NFL has gone a long way to Disney-fy its image, but it's not Disney. It's the MMA. It's a violent, brutal human war, with rules. The same guy who says, 'I'm going to rob everybody,' is the same guy who would be successful in the NFL.
I see a lot of actors that are doing things to please their coaches, their teachers in the past. They say 'No' to parts they should have said 'Yes' to simply because of the opinion of people in their past. I have no one in my past who is judging me and saying, 'Maybe you shouldn't do that.' I'll do it all.
What shocked me, and what I wasn't prepared for, was just how brutal and how unethical some people can be in the NFL. I mean, there were some great people, but there were some real snakes, too. I was like, 'Holy cow!' But it made me a better person, and it got me ready for other things.
You know what? I wanna play something that is really... it changes the game. I don't wanna be the same story where it's the Charles Bronson formula, where he's getting revenge or whatever.
I could've ended up in action films forever. But the comedy thing has been my forte.
I actually ran into Justin Bieber when nobody knew him at the Kids' Choice Awards. He came up to me like, 'Mr. Crews, how you doing? I'm produced by Usher and I just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Justin Bieber,' and I just knew he was a good, nice kid. Next year, people are screaming and attacking him!
I'm a Bieber fan for life. — © Terry Crews
I'm a Bieber fan for life.
Never stop being YOU. I am out to be the best ME I can be. Do what you LOVE and you will be badass.
You have to empathize with your children. If you love them, you never really get too angry with them when they make a mistake, because kids are expected to make mistakes. Having children, you start to see yourself through them.
Trying to be cool is the easiest path to mediocrity
The thing that you think is imperfect about you, is the thing that makes you who you are. It separates you from everybody else.
Never stop! Slow down sometimes, but never stop!
You can't be perfect, so enjoy your imperfections.
It's great to be strong but strength is nothing without having compassion.
I constantly get out of my comfort zone. Looking cool is the easiest way to mediocrity. The coolest guy in my high school ended up working at a car wash. Once you push yourself into something new, and whole new world of opportunities opens up. But you might get hurt. In fact you WILL get hurt. But amazingly when you heal - you are somewhere you've never been.
Embrace failure. Never never quit. Get very comfortable with that uneasy feeling of going against the grain and trying something new. It will constantly take you places you never thought you could go. This has been my mantra for years. I always remember I won't do things right on the first try. So failure is mandatory for success!
It ain't easy being cheesy!
Never let anyone define you. You are the only person who defines you. No one can speak for you. Only you speak for you. You are your only voice.
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