Terrence Howard: Not Being In Iron Man II Was The Surprise Of A Lifetime



(image via yahoo.movies)

Oscar nominated actor Terrence Howard spoke to Scott Simon on NPR this weekend. In an expansive interview in which he talked about his childhood and how his father went to prison, plunging his family into poverty after a relatively Middle Class upbringing. And then came the subject of his controversial exit from Iron Man II:

"Scott Simon: You're not gonna be Jim Rhodes in Iron Man 2.

"Howard: Ya, I found that out too.

"Scott Simon: Really? They didn't...

"Howard: It was the surprise of a lifetime. There was no explanation. I read something in the trades that implicated it was about money or something but apparently the contracts that we write and sign aren't worth the paper that they're printed on. And promises aren't kept. Good faith negotiations aren't always held up. You know, even friendships, people that you support..."

That's quite a surprise. The conventional wisdom was that Terrence Howard, who was in a supporting role, had asked for too much money to be in the sequel. Apparently that was not the case. Marksfriggin summarizes the talk on The Howard Stern Show last week:

"Robin read a story about the next Iron Man movie and how Terrence Howard won't be returning for the second movie. Robin said that he's being replaced by Don Cheedle. Artie said that he was good in the movie and they set him up for the part to be his best friend. Howard figured the guy just demanded too much money. Artie said that a movie like that is like an offer from the Mafia, you just accept the first offer."