From football to acting: Ranking Terry Crews’s most awesome roles

Last year, Terry Crews went before the Senate and the world to share his story of being sexually assaulted at a party. His address didn’t just highlight his own experience, as Crews used the opportunity to empathize with the plight of women who have experienced and continue to experience similar behavior and speak out against toxic masculinity.

Naturally, various dudebros chimed in to mock Crews for his sentiments. 50 Cent belittled the former NFL star and actor like a classic frat boy on Instagram with various posts including a photo of a topless Crews under the words, “I got raped/my wife just watched.” Russell Simmons – a man who has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women – reportedly LOL’ed in the comments along with a bunch of other morons.

In response to 50 Cent’s toxic Twitter thread, Crews told TMZ, “I love his music,” and added, “I prove that size doesn’t matter when it comes to sexual assault.” The actor also took to Twitter with a poetic reminder of the familiar (and useless) lines of questioning people ask of sexual assault survivors to imply that they’re weak or allowed it to happen. “Why didn’t you say something? I did. Why didn’t you push him off? I did. Why didn’t you cuss him out? I did. Why didn’t you tell the police? I did,” the post reads.

We’re huge fans of Crews here at Film Daily and believe him to be one of the good guys in the industry. His admissions concerning his own #MeToo experience and decision to speak out against rape culture from a male perspective have been refreshing and powerful. To celebrate and show support to the Hollywood hero, here’s our ranking of his eleven best roles so far that prove he’s a man and a talent to be cherished.

11. Agent 91: Get Smart (2008)

As another egotistical dude in the boy’s club of a top secret intelligence agency, Crews is all brawn and uptight professionalism alongside Dwayne Johnson (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle) & Steve Carell (Welcome to Marwen).

10. Street Person #3: Inland Empire (2006)

Crews is barely even featured in David Lynch’s head scratcher of a Hollywood horror but there’s still something wonderful about him starring in a film from the director. Though he doesn’t say a word to Laura Dern’s lead character, he’s there, which makes us wish for a proper Lynch & Crews collaboration at some point in the future.

9. Host: Ultimate Beastmaster (2017)

The Netflix Originals show isn’t a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination. But if you need to feel pumped for life, this international obstacle course competition is it. S1 features Crews as the US guest host and his excitement for seeing people triumph at athleticism is one of the most beautiful things on Netflix.

8. Lonny Church: The Newsroom (2012)

Will McAvoy’s (Jeff Daniels) bodyguard rocks a sharp suit and some ruthless defence of his client. The Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) series showcased how skilled yet playful Crews can be in a slightly more serious role than his usual.

7. Hackman: Gamer (2009)

Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor’s cult action movie could never be accused of subtlety. Which is for the best considering Crews plays a totally naked death row convict threatening Gerard Butler’s gamer by singing a song from Pinocchio to him. It’s as crazy as it sounds and just as great.

6. Hale Caesar: The Expendables (2010)

Crews brings some much needed sweetness to Sylvester Stallone’s testosterone-heavy, macho man contest of a movie franchise. The actor flexed his mighty muscles and shot a lot of guns in three of the movies, but has since announced he won’t be returning for a fourth.

5. Bedlam: Deadpool 2 (2018)

Though his role as part of the ill-fated X-Force team was only a minor one, Crews still managed to pack some sparkling moments of humor into his time on screen alongside Bill Skarsgård (Castle Rock), Rob Delaney (Catastrophe), and even Brad Pitt (Twelve Monkeys) as his fellow heroes doomed for death.

4. Julius: Everybody Hates Chris (2005 – 2009)

The role that highlighted Crews’s true potential as a comedic star sees the actor as the incredibly relatable patriarch of Chris Rock’s family sitcom. He’s endearingly grumpy, incredibly sweet, and unafraid to whoop some ass when his kid steps out of line.

3. President Camacho: Idiocracy (2006)

Mike Judge’s eerily prescient and uproarious political satire sees Crews playing the POTUS as a former pro wrestler and porn star in a patriotic suit with plenty of big statements, bold hair, and an assault rifle he fires into the air to punctuate his preacher-style proclamations. Crews stars alongside Luke Wilson (Old School) and Dax Shepard (Employee of the Month).

2. LaTrell Spencer: White Chicks (2004)

The Wayans brothers’ silly satire might just feature Crews’s funniest performance to date as a persistent suitor of Marcus (Marlon Wayans) with a soft spot for Vanessa Carlton’s “A Thousand Miles”.

1. Terry Jeffords: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013 – 2018)

Easily one of the most likeable and unique sitcom characters of modern US television, Terry Jeffords is a hulking mountain of a cop who wants nothing more than to eat some yoghurt and enjoy a good cry while talking about his little girls. He’s a dream.