Biography
Terry Crews made the transition from professional athlete to one of the most recognizable performers in American entertainment. A native of Flint, Michigan, he played football at Western Michigan University. A defensive end, he was drafted in the 11th round of the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams. His career included short stints with the Rams, San Diego Chargers, Washington Redskins, and Philadelphia Eagles. After giving up his dreams of football stardom, Crews returned to Los Angeles to pursue acting. He spent two seasons on the competition show "Battle Dome" (Syndicated, 1991-2001), but struggled finding acting roles. After working security for Ice Cube, he earned a part in the star's film "Friday After Next" (2002). That jump started his career and soon he was appearing in films like "Deliver Us From Eva" (2003), "Malibu's Most Wanted" (2003), and "Soul Plane" (2004). After appearing with Shawn and Marlon Wayans in "White Chicks" (2004), Crews received a boost from Adam Sandler when the comedian cast him in his remake of the '70s football film "The Longest Yard" (2005). The actor also moved into television with a series regular role in the Chris Rock produced "Everybody Hates Chris" (UPN, 2005-09), playing the hard-working father in the sitcom. Established in comedy. Crews began also taking advantage of his imposing physical presence, appearing in the action films "Terminator Salvation" (2009) and "The Expendables" (2010). His relationship with famous friends like Sandler and Sylvester Stallone began paying off. He appeared with Stallone in the two sequels "The Expendables 2" (2012) and "The Expendables 3" (2014), and was cast by Sandler in a variety of projects, including "Blended" (2014). Crews remained a regular presence on television. His real-life family was featured on the reality show "The Family Crews" (BET, 2010-11). He also starred in the sitcom "Are We There Yet?" (TBS, 2010-13) and made appearances on Aaron Sorkin's drama "The Newsroom" (HBO, 2012-14) and the acclaimed comedy "Arrested Development (Netflix, 2013-). He then joined the cast of Andy Samberg's Emmy-winning sitcom "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" (Fox/NBC, 2013-) playing gentle giant Sergeant Jeffords. While filming the sitcom, he spent a season hosting the game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" (Syndicated, 2002-). He continued mixing in film roles as well, including a memorable cameos in the superhero film "Deadpool 2" (2018) and the critically praised "Sorry to Bother You" (2018). In addition to his onscreen work, Crews became a sought after voice actor, lending his talents to a number of animated projects, including the film adaption of Lois Lowry's children's book "The Willoughbys" (2020). Beyond acting, he was praised for his candidness in discussing his experiences with domestic violence as a child and sexual assault in Hollywood.
