For most of his career, Terrence Howard has been the background character who's stolen the scenes in some of your favorite movies. Whether it was Louis Russ in 'Mr. Holland's Opus,' Cowboy in 'Dead Presidents' or the keeping-it-real cool of Quentin in 'The Best Man,' his work is memorable and very often underrated. He is, however, making his push to the forefront with 'Hustle & Flow,' where he stars as DJay, a man who has a dream to change his life for the better. The film, executive produced by John Singleton, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in February to glowing reviews and was subject to a bidding war that Paramount/MTV Films won for $9 million, plus a three-picture deal for Singleton worth $16 million.

BlackVoices caught up with Howard in the midst of promoting his other films -- which includes 'Lackawanna Blues,' 'The Salon' and 'Crash' -- to get the real deal on the film, his career and the film industry.

Your new film 'Hustle & Flow,' I haven't seen it, but it's supposed to be about a pimp trying to become a rapper and...

Man, they keep saying that! Whoever keeps saying that... you know the publicity team is really on crack! It's about a group of people living in a situation who are trying to make the best out of their circumstances. It's a lot of people hustling and flowing together, depending on where they are, from different parts of life within the same small demographic. It's just a different area, a different wildflower that makes up a garden, but they just happen to be a bunch of weeds according to the rest of society. But my character, DJay, doesn't see himself as a pimp. He's just struggling with the girls that he's with. If it was really about a pimp trying to be a rapper all this conversation wouldn't be happening about it, because that's something that you don't have in polite conversation. So apparently it can't be about that, or I wouldn't have played the character. I didn't go in there to play a pimp. I went in there to play a person.

After the movie was screened at Sundance, a bidding war for the rights to distribute the film began. What did you think about that kind of reaction?

Well, if I was getting some of that money, I would have a lot to think about it. I kind of felt like I had just been pimped. [Executive producer] John Singleton will make a fortune off of it. Paramount and MTV Films will make a fortune. Me and the actors that poured everything out, we get a nice cut on the back. Maybe a couple of mentions, that's great.

So you're pretty satisfied with where you're at? Or is there a greater goal that you want to achieve?

Man, I'm trying to retire. I'm trying to make enough money where I can be financially independent and be able to go and just pursue that thing that everybody really needs, just pursue my family and the cause of my family. So if that means that maybe I'll get two years closer to retirement as a result of this, God forbid they give me the money that I need, if I get that money, I'm out. I'm not in this forever. I don't have any love for this business or the game or for acting. This is my day job. The purpose of my life is being a father to my kids and being a husband to my wife.

What do you think is the most important responsibility as a father?

Well, you just said it, being a father to them. You know, not just being a sperm donor to their cause. We call the Creator father, because we rely upon Him to protect us, guide us, feed us, keep us warm, to discipline us and all those things. I try to take my cue from the Creator, with regard to my children.

What do you do for fun, when you have leisure time?

Play music, read, theorize on the development of scientific matters. I like to watch mankind in its futile attempt to understand the unknown, when they don't even understand that which they know. It's nice when you have your own little insight. You know, like with your kids, you can tell them things or you can let them find out for themselves. But you give them hints along the way, it's what nature has done that gives us hints about creation itself. It tells our purpose but it doesn't spell it out for you, you have to proceed with some discernment. So that's what I like to do. I like to proceed with discernment. That's me, man, but I'm in a melancholy state this morning.

Well, that's all I had for you, but I hope the rest of your day goes better.

It's not so bad; I just look at it as gratuitous. To lose the keys just because I had a bunch of more meetings set up at a studio where I've just been at for two days for ya know, just a hello. I feel like I'm being paraded about on the auction block, like "Look what we've got here, someone who has been in the cellar all this time, who wants to make a bid for him?" Then it's like "Ya know you can come stay at my cabin, you won't even have to pick no cotton, you can ride the horse." That's how I feel about all this stuff right now.