August 1, 2012
Actor and TV Host Terrence J Talks Hollywood Wins and Whitney Houston Memories
Now, with Sparkle coming up, what did you learn from working alongside an all-star cast for such an amazing classic?
Sparkle was amazing. I got to work with incredible people like Jordin Sparks, Ceelo Green, Derek Luke and  the whole cast. It was a lot of fun and a great atmosphere. From Derek, I just watch his technique. He’s very good at getting into the right light and positioning himself. He’s really good at bringing life to the words written in the script. Jordin just has that raw charisma, and she just went in there and killed it. What I learned from Mike Epps is the versatility. He really takes a darker role in this film, and just watching how he flips from being funny into this darker place was really inspiring. I really learned something from everyone on the set.
Sparkle is one of the last recorded memories we all have of Whitney Houston. Talk about  your best memory of her on the set.
She was just striking, super beautiful , and very tall. I don’t think it really portrays on TV how tall she is — she’s regally model height. When I bumped into her, I just really wanted to take a photo, and I ended up not taking it because I just didn’t want to take it on set. My biggest lesson from that is, when you meet someone you appreciate and admire, you should never take the moment for granted. Whitney is an icon and she’ll be missed, and I’ll hold on to [memories of] my couple moments on set with her very dearly.
You started in radio, and you even had a show with Khloe Kardashia and was featured on their show. Do you plan to get back into radio?
I like to be versatile. I don’t like to put myself in a box. I plan to do more films, I might do more TV, I might get back into radio. I love to have creative flexibility. I love all of the different outlets and what they have to offer so I never put myself in one particular box.
Let’s switch gears and talk business and finances. When you got that first big check, what are some the things you did— the dos and don’ts— with handling finances.
Be as responsible as possible. With finances it takes time. You’re going to have a learning curve. I tried to be responsible and I bought a house, but when the market crashed, it ended up not being such a great investment. So, I say, just be as financially responsible as possible. Read as much and meet with as many financial advisers so you can have the greatness understanding as you possibly can when it comes to going into financial success. It takes time. I’ve been in position of profit in past seven years, and I still learn something new every day. You learn from your mistakes.