Why Terrance Howard Was Dumped From Iron Man 2 – He Was Bad And Over Paid

There has been a lot of discussion on the surprise news that Terrance Howard was dumped from Iron Man 2 and replaced by (the superior actor) Don Cheadle. Some hate the news, some (like myself) thought it was a shame, but happy to see Cheadle in the role. Well… according to Entertainment Weekly some new information is surfacing regarding WHY Howard was dumped.

Turns out it was for 2 reasons.

#1 – He was the highest paid actor on the movie
Yes, according to Entertainment Weekly, Terrance Howard was signed for MORE than Robert Downey Jr and everyone else on the movie. This isn’t too surprising because the studio wasn’t sure how the public would react to Downy at the time and Howard was, quite frankly, the bigger name. Still… a minor character getting more than the leads?

#2 – Howard was difficult on set and bad in the film
It’s being reported now that the studio, and director Jon Favreau himself did not like the performance Terrance Howard gave nor liked working with him that much. According to the story, Favreau spent a lot of time cutting and re-editing Howard’s scenes to make them work. It was so bad, that even though the original plan was to have a BIGGER role for Howard in the second film, Favreau had been working to make Howard’s role SMALLER. This was the final straw that made the studio pull the trigger and make the change change. If the director isn’t happy with the actor and he’s making him a smaller part but still be the highest paid??? You’d make the change too.

Anyway, my opinion of the situation is still pretty much the same. All other things being equal I would have liked to have seen Howard back as War Machine… but I’m even happier having Don Cheadle in the part now.

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38 thoughts on “Why Terrance Howard Was Dumped From Iron Man 2 – He Was Bad And Over Paid

  1. Interesting how they were making his role smaller, but Faverau made his part bigger in this film and I think he was the Jar-Jar Binks of this movie, IMO. If they cut out most of his dialog from IM2, it would’ve been better.

    Cheadle was good in this, but he was about as bland as Rhoades was in IM1. Either way, you could see why he and RDj got along in the first movie. In the second one, you didn’t really see that until the ending sequences where he was in the suit and it was being controlled by Whiplash. Then, he was good.

    BTW, that Birthday Party scene was still the worse part of the whole movie. :)

    1. Fav made his role as the driver “bigger” and he still has less than 10 minutes of screen time. Happy Hogan was Tony’s driver but he was also his friend. The character deserves more screen time to at least show he isn’t just a prop in the background. They added all they needed to.

  2. if you think she doesnt sell tickets think again my friends

    because it was because of her that i watched shallow hal (yes. you might have heard of that movie)

    if she would have been in some of the worst movies ever made..i would have watched those movies repeatedly..

    you know…crash, the bucket list, electra, critters, spaceballs, the matrix sequels…

  3. I thought Howard was crap in the film. I’m glad he’s gone. In my opinion he was not suited for that film at all. He kinda brought it down.
    Every time he was on screen i cringed!!!!!
    Bring on the Cheadle

  4. The overpaid thing I can understand, but saying he was bad? I don’t think so. Howard has always managed to do some great performances whether they were lead or supporting. It had to be a conflict of interest with Jon F. and crew. Plus I honestly think it’s unprofessional for the people behind this film to say such bad things about him like that. What if it makes a difference in his ability to land future roles? Lame. Don’t get me wrong, I like Cheadle as well but I think the way they are going about this is pretty lame.

  5. SAHIL- a couple of years ago, RDJ, couldn’t get insured for movie roles. he’s probably cheap.

    DARREN J SEELEY-on african american blogs and movie sites there has been talk for about a year or two that TH is difficult on set and has a huge drug addiction. which could be a contributing factor.

    HAZMAT- i agree with a poster above, that gwyneth doesn’t sell tickets. i don’t understand someone paying Nicole Kidman and she doesn’t sell tickets.

  6. Howard had nothing to do in the film, that’s why he was uninteresting. He’s an amazing actor and I always thought it was weird to see a guy like him in a summer blockbuster, especially when the role was so empty.
    And if you are worried about Howard’s voice being too soft then I think you’d be dismayed with Cheadle’s voice which is smooth as silk.

  7. I never got the praise some people gave Howard for the role after Iron Man released, he was bland and his voice was far to soft for the type of guy Rhodey is supposed to be. Here’s hoping Cheadle can surprise us.

  8. I dont think Howard did a bad job in the role. In other words he didnt fuck it up. But he brought absolutely nothing to it either. They could have used a cardboard cutout and a tape recorder and gotten practially the same performance. I’m glad he’s gone and they are bringing in someone who can act.

    As far as the pay and the attitude, I dont care. As a fanboy watching the movie all I care about it what is on the screen.

  9. Terence Howard is full of himself and he’s a show-off. He isn’t even that great an actor. I’ve seen him in some interviews and the guy comes off as a rude ass hole.

  10. How come *this* news is coming to light now? We all heard about the strife with Ed Norton and The Hulk stuff. Why didn’t we hear the problems with Howard and Iron Man? Weren’t we paying attention?

    I’m sorry. I could buy it if they felt in the long run Howard wasn’t working as Rhodes (I thought he was fine) and it made more sense to recast with Cheadle (although, shoudln’t Cheadle be a higher price tag?) …and if Howard was that horrid, why keep him around in the first place?

    But I don’t buy EW’s entire findings. I’m sure there’s more to this than meets the eye.

  11. @ KIDDO
    How about they draft from the voice of the Spiderman cartoons and get James Avery AKA Uncle Phil AKA original Shredder to play Rhodes? I really hope he gets a suit and becomes War Machine.
    I am such a sucka for sticking to story lines. At least where it’s important anyways.

  12. Whatever his character sucked, or at least I didn’t see any importance in it in the movie. I don’t care who plays it could be Terrence, Cheadle, Forrest Whitaker for all I care, as long it’s not as boring as it was in the first Iron Man

  13. i think marvel will (and should) be more free with re-casting characters. after all, they have different “looks” for characters in their comic books, with different artists. as long as they get the essence of the character right, it’ll be a-ok.

  14. The pay should not be an issue here, regardless of his role in the movie. There was nothing to stop these guys saying no to T.H. and looking for someone cheaper. There’s plenty of talent out there.

    However if crew found it difficult to work with the guy then it makes sense to recruit a new actor for the new film, hence maybe why his part was edited to seem very small in the movie.

    No reference to this story about change in actors but I get disappointed when I read difficulties between people during a shoot or in the studio. But I guess this is the pressures of being in the movie industry, some can handle it and some don’t.

  15. Of course he was the highest paid.

    This isn’t about who is the best actor, it’s about who is the most POPULAR and BANKABLE. Gwyneth Paltrow is not bankable. Neither is Jeff Bridges. As for Downey, he is a former druggie who, at the time of his casting, was still trying to rebuild his career.

  16. There is another upside to this, Marvel has quickly popped the cherry on recasting roles… They own the characters, the actors don’t, and they may feel the need to remind us more often than we’ll be used to. Marvel, to survive, has to make these properties into James Bond like movie institutions, and keep us from identifying the talent with the property.

  17. But a better actor isnt just good on screen, they are good to the people they work with. I have heard nothing negative about Cheadle, so I assume he is average to hang out with at best.

    But when you are warming up to give a bigger role to a supporting character, you want someone who will not just do it right, but someone you don’t want to murder after the cameras stop rolling.

  18. Ah, okay. He was being a dick. The change is acceptable then.

    But really – paid more than Robert Downey? I hadn’t even heard of this guy before Iron Man. I don’t understand why studios throw so much money at some people when there’s plenty of equally good/better actors out there who’ll do it for less.

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