Terrence Howard’s Most Outrageous ‘Rolling Stone’ Quotes

"Empire" star sounds off on math, Lucious Lyon, his childhood and more.

ByABC News
September 15, 2015, 3:36 PM
Actor Terrence Howard attends the "Empire" curated collection unveiling at Saks Fifth Avenue, Sept. 12, 2015, in New York.
Actor Terrence Howard attends the "Empire" curated collection unveiling at Saks Fifth Avenue, Sept. 12, 2015, in New York.
Jim Spellman/Getty Images

— -- Not everything adds up in Terrence Howard's recent interview with Rolling Stone.

Just ask the "Empire" star to multiply one times one.

"This is the last century that our children will ever have been taught that one times one is one," Howard, 46, told the magazine in an interview. "They won't have to grow up in ignorance. Twenty years from now, they'll know that one times one equals two. We're about to show a new truth. The true universal math."

Howard has a name for his unconventional math theories: "Terryology." He actually left Brooklyn's Pratt Institute, where he studied chemical engineering before becoming an actor, after arguing with a professor about what one times one equals.

Another interesting tidbit from the Rolling Stone interview: Howard and his wife Mira Pak spend hours each day cutting out and assembling plastic shapes, which he said provides proof for his theories.

"I have created the pieces that make up the motion of the universe," Howard explained. "We work on them about 17 hours a day. She cuts and puts on the crystals. I do the main work of soldering them together. They tell the truth from within."

Howard posted a video of one of his pieces on Twitter today.

Crazy is as Crazy does... Do the math! pic.twitter.com/JPxBEjvvfU

Terrence D Howard (@terrencehoward) September 15, 2015

"Crazy is as Crazy does," he wrote. "Do the math!"

Howard's theories on math weren't the only things that didn't add up from the Rolling Stone interview. Check out these other outrageous quotes:

On Being a Man

"My daddy taught me, 'Never take the vertebrae out of your back or the bass out of your throat. I ain't raisin' sheep. I raised men. Stay a man,'" Howard recalled. "But being a man comes with a curse because it's not a society made for men to flourish anymore. Everything is androgynous, you know? The more successful men now are the effeminate."

On Seeing His Father Kill a Man

Howard's father Tyrone served 11 months in prison after he stabbed a man to death in 1971 while arguing over who was next in line to see a department-store Santa. "I was standing next to my father, watching," Howard recalled. "Then stuff happened so quickly -- blood was on the coats, on our jackets -- and then my dad's on a table and then my dad is gone to prison."

On Being Tormented for His Skin Color

Howard said the kids would smack him to see how long it took for him to turn red until his uncle taught him to box at the age of 13. After that, he said, "I was the pretty boy, so people didn't think I could defend myself, but it didn't end up being a good day for them."

On Curing His Bell's Palsy

Howard said he gave himself electrical shocks using his Dad's electric razor after he was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy in high school. Bell's Palsy is a disease that paralyzes or weakens the muscles on one side of the face. "I did that every day for five months and then I felt the slightest little twitch inside," he said, claiming he made a full recovery.

On Playing Lucious Lyon

\"Crazy is as Crazy does,\" he wrote. \"Do the math!\"

Howard's theories on math weren't the only things that didn't add up from the Rolling Stone interview. Check out these other outrageous quotes:

On Being a Man

\"My daddy taught me, 'Never take the vertebrae out of your back or the bass out of your throat. I ain't raisin' sheep. I raised men. Stay a man,'\" Howard recalled. \"But being a man comes with a curse because it's not a society made for men to flourish anymore. Everything is androgynous, you know? The more successful men now are the effeminate.\"

On Seeing His Father Kill a Man

Howard's father Tyrone served 11 months in prison after he stabbed a man to death in 1971 while arguing over who was next in line to see a department-store Santa. \"I was standing next to my father, watching,\" Howard recalled. \"Then stuff happened so quickly -- blood was on the coats, on our jackets -- and then my dad's on a table and then my dad is gone to prison.\"

On Being Tormented for His Skin Color

Howard said the kids would smack him to see how long it took for him to turn red until his uncle taught him to box at the age of 13. After that, he said, \"I was the pretty boy, so people didn't think I could defend myself, but it didn't end up being a good day for them.\"

On Curing His Bell's Palsy

Howard said he gave himself electrical shocks using his Dad's electric razor after he was diagnosed with Bell's Palsy in high school. Bell's Palsy is a disease that paralyzes or weakens the muscles on one side of the face. \"I did that every day for five months and then I felt the slightest little twitch inside,\" he said, claiming he made a full recovery.

On Playing Lucious Lyon

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