Terrence Dashon Howard (born March 11, 1969) is an American actor and singer. Having his first major roles in the 1995 films Dead Presidents and Mr. Holland's Opus, Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of television and cinema 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 played James Rhodes in the first Iron Man and its video game adaptation, but he was replaced by Don Cheadle for the future films. He currently stars as the lead character Lucious Lyon in the television series Empire. His debut album, Shine Through It, was released in September 2008.