Veteran actor Terrence Howard says when when Empire wraps up its upcoming and final season, he plans to give up acting altogether and retire from the industry.
During an interview with Extra that aired Wednesday, the actor explaining that after leaving the limelight he plans include “bringing the truth to the world.” But despite decades in the industry, kingpin Lucious Lyon would most likely be his final role.
“Oh, I’m done with acting. I’m done pretending,” he said candidly.
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The show successfully completed five seasons of drama, cliffhangers, flossing and lots of music, but in May it was announced that the Lyon family would be playing its own endgame during the sixth season of Fox’s most notorious evening soap.
Directly following the news, fans began wondering if embattled star Jussie Smollett would be invited to say one final goodbye to his cast mates and viewers, despite the scandals he’d been involved in.
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“We are turning the final season into a television event,” Fox Entertainment’s CEO Charlie Collier said at the time, according to Variety. “One of the great benefits of announcing a final season announce have the fans lean in have the finale they desire.”
When questioned about if Smollett would be returning for the show’s finale, Collier said, “At this point, we have no plans for that.” But he also noted that “the writers room for next season hasn’t even gathered yet.”
Empire, brought to television by executive producer Lee Daniels, and starring Howard and Taraji P. Henson, had initially been a hit when it premiered in January 2015, with an average 12.97 million viewers at the end of its first season, according to Nielsen. But viewership declined significantly since that time with the fifth season garnering an average of 4.94 million. The show has been nominated for eight Emmy Awards.
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