Terrence Dashon Howard is an American actor and singer. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Dead Presidents, and Mr. Holland's Opus, Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and film roles between 2004 and 2006. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Hustle & Flow. Howard has had prominent roles in many other movies including Winnie, Ray, Lackawanna Blues, Crash, Four Brothers, Get Rich or Die Tryin', Idlewild, August Rush, The Brave One and Prisoners. Howard co-starred in Iron Man and reprised the role in the video game adaptation. He currently stars as the lead character Lucious Lyon in the TV series Empire.