Catching Up with “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star Terry Crews

At a press conference this summer for Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Andy Samberg joked about how his costar, Terry Crews, is always Mr. Sunshine on the set. “When you first meet him you are like, ‘This dude is full of s@#$,’” Sandberg told. “And after two days, you are like, ‘Oh, no. He’s just the most positive person.’’’ And, we couldn’t agree more — he’s one of the best things going for the series. The former NFL star turned TV actor (Everybody Hates Chris, Are We There Yet?) counts his blessings on a daily basis, literally. Here’s what he had to share.

Terry Crews from Brooklyn Nine-NineAndy Sandberg gives you credit for being such a positive person on the set. Where does all that positive spirit come from?
Terry Crews:
Andy is going to get my first two paychecks. That was the agreement we made right before the panel and he did a good job. [Honestly], I witnessed a lot of pain growing up. I witnessed the death of the industrial revolution — basically, the whole auto industry imploded while I was growing up. I witnessed the crack epidemic. I lost a lot of my friends in jail or they died. It’s not lost on me how fortunate I am. When I say I’m the Plinko chip that landed magically on the million-dollar mark, it’s because there are so many people who started out just like me and who ended off way worse and aren’t here.

Who or what do you credit for that?
One thing was my upbringing — my parents — they taught me to do the right thing. I’ve been married 24 years to my beautiful wife, Rebecca, who has been the stabilizing force. There have been so many times where I wanted to give up and so many times I’ve wanted to quit because it’s extremely frustrating. No one knows frustration like the NFL and this business. The NFL got me ready for this. I was on six teams in seven years. I was playing and cut. Playing and cut. Then I go into entertainment and I go on auditions and then get rejections. Auditions and rejections. It’s heartache, heartache, heartache. I would just come home and lay in her lap and say, “I can’t do this anymore.” And she would say, “Go to sleep, take a nap. You’ll feel differently tomorrow.” And then it was a different day and you would realize you would have another chance. And now here I am, not only am I doing TV, I’m working with the best in the biz.

If you really were a cop, what type of cop would you be?
An undercover guy on the streets. I would be a Donnie Brasco. Put me in Compton, they’d tell me anything.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine airs on FOX Tuesdays.