Terry Crews - Details

Biography

Terry Crews made his big screen debut in The 6th Day.

A native of Flint, Michigan, Crews learned to balance art and athletics at an early age. After winning many awards in high school for his art talent, he received a scholarship from Chrysler Motor Corporation to attend Interlochen Art Academy. After completing his studies there, he earned an Art Excellence scholarship to attend Western Michigan University where he pursued his other love - football.

Crews, an art major, earned a full-ride athletic scholarship in 1987. He went on to become an All Mid-American conference defensive end, highlighted by winning the Mid-American Conference championship in 1988. After two years at the collegiate level, the NFL called. In 1991, Terry was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams.

A journeyman after his rookie year, Crews enjoyed six more years in the NFL with stints at the Green Bay Packers (1993), San Diego Chargers (1993-94), Rhein Fire (Germany, 1995) and Washington Redskins (1995-96). While in the NFL, Crews used his art talent to the fullest by painting a line of NFL licensed lithographs for Sierra Sun Editions. In 1996, Crews’ lifelong dream of filmmaking was realized when he co-wrote and co-produced the independent feature film Young Boys Incorporated. Crews spent the next season with the Philadelphia Eagles.

Crews officially retired from the NFL in 1997 and moved to Los Angeles in hopes of furthering his film career. Crews wrote scripts and worked several odd jobs from sweeping floors and filing papers to nightclub bouncer and security for on-location productions. Crews’ first break came in 1999 when he was invited to audition for the extreme sports show called Battledome with actor-athletes from all over the country. After numerous callbacks, Crews was chosen to be a series regular and quickly gained a following as the urban warrior, T-Money.