Our coverage of Iron Man at the San Diego Comic Con continues, as our Ultimate Iron Man Fan Contest winner gets the chance to sit down with non-other than Terrance Howard, the magnificent actor who will play the role of James Rhodes for the upcoming Iron Man film. He talks about dealing with a savvy audience, preparation, and learning to fly jets.
CraveOnline: How did it feel playing one of the first black super heroes?
Terrence Howard: I feel like Sidney Poitier and Jackie Robinson right here. I got to do what they’ve pushed the envelope on for so many years, to be held responsible at the same time for how that characters’ produced. Perhaps in the future they’ll green light other characters or other ethnicities will have a chance, based upon how this is accepted. It’s a lot of [pressure]. I never even thought about it like that, I didn’t recognize that.
CraveOnline: Do you get the chance to step into the armor?
Terrence Howard: You have to remember, the reason that Marvel wanted to be independent on this project right here, was so that they would not have the constraints of a studio that was more concerned with marketing, instead of being concerned with the historical authenticity of the film, that’s what’s more important, to be true creatively. And then, because this is a very smart audience now, thirty years ago, if an audience didn’t like something, they could be vocal and have their voice heard to three or four persons, now each person can get on [the internet] and say, “I don’t recommend this movie because they forgot this t=and they forgot that.” I mean we’re so much more accountable and we realize that the audience is so much more intelligent than marketing research shows.
CraveOnline: Do you have any scenes with Hilary Swank or even Sam Jackson?
Terrence Howard: uhhh… ya know (sly smile)… They (Marvel) are more concerned with the future aspects of the movie, it’s like yeah, you can go and throw a bunch or preservatives in a piece of food and sell it, and sell a million pieces of it, but then two years from now when the scientific research comes out, nobody’s gonna by it anymore, but if you stay true and start grass roots and touch on the imagination of this intelligent audience, then you have lifetime valuables, and that is great for me because that means I get to go be in the Avengers. Because I put on the suit and go to the Avengers, I get to be Warmachine I get paid man!
CraveOnline: What aspect of playing a superhero was the most challenging?
Terrence Howard: The most challenging thing is to find something super in you, to find something where you take a stand on something or didn’t make a compromise cause that’s what a superhero is; it’s not just a man that stands up, its like he’s gone beyond the call of duty. Beyond the call of humanity, and says, “You know what? I’m gonna be a man today, a real live man, I’m gonna sacrifice everything that I have, and I’m weak in nature you know? I’ve got the same problems as everybody at this table, to stand up and say, I’m gonna be more than that.” That’s the best part of it.
CraveOnline: How will the movie explain your characters relation to the suit and the story?
Terrence Howard: You gotta remember, in the comic book James Rhodes puts on that suit and as a result of the neural net pattern that Tony Stark had, and had designed the suit according to the frequency of his [own] brain it changes Rhodes’ [subsequently] thinking pattern, whether Rhodes becomes smarter or not, is left to be told. But, Rhodes changed from being a traditionalist, to now a rebellious man. So I can’t say yes, and I’m definitely not saying no.
CraveOnline: In the film, it’s says you start off as a lieutenant colonel?
Terrence Howard:Lieutenant colonel of the United States Air Force. I’m a liaison between the acquisitions office and Stark Industries, so on a day to day basis Tony brings all his new technologies or possible technologies to me first, and then I say, “This has viability within the United States military, whether it will be a marine application or what have you, and then we actually work with Boeing. [The story] has us (Stark and Rhodes) going to M.I.T. together.
CraveOnline: Did you have to train in preparation of this film?Terrence Howard: I just went up with the Air Force, took a lot of time with them, I got to fly jets. You don’t just go up in there and sit in there, the best thing about these jets, let me tell you, you have nothing to hold onto except this joy stick, and the only time they give you this joy stick is when the person up front will shake it, and when he shakes it, you know that he wants you to take it. You can go 400 mph in a jet, with a wing man right there, telling you to roll it, I got to do that. So we went through the flight simulators for weeks, and then finally I flew three or four times with the United States Air force, the T-38 and an F -16’s, F-15, I mean, I’m bad now. I can land a plane you know?
CraveOnline: Were you an Iron Man fan growing up?
Terrence Howard: I was a fan of X-Men, and they made me so mad when they killed the Phoenix, I didn’t want the Phoenix to die for nothing, I thought there were other possibilities, hopefully they’ll bring her back. Remember the young mutant whose powers could cancel out other mutants, who couldn’t he come around, why did Wolverine have to kill her?
CraveOnline: Are you ready to see yourself as an action figure? Will you play with yourself?
Terrence Howard: Will I play with myself? I’ve done that once or twice before, and now I’ll have a little buddy to play with.
