“Tough thing about Broadway is eight shows a week. It’s slavery. That needs to be adjusted. It’s wrong. Actors work three years straight sometimes with one day off. This exhaustion puts you into depression. Like today [Wednesday] it’s two shows. I have to put makeup on, take makeup off. Not like in movies with whole departments to fluff and puff you. In between performances, I have to study with my son, who’s taking Bible and guitar. And we’re filming this play for the archives. Come 7:30, I have to take another look at the script, get into the mind-set again, then sign autographs, pose for photos with fans and thank them for their attention and for coming. Monday, your one day off, you have to cram in all your meetings and appointments and the rest of your whole life, and hope you can survive on Benadryl. I love what I’m doing. No cameraman’s saying, ‘Stand here . . . look there.’ It’s not all done in five-minute takes. Your work has to be inside you. You push beyond your comfort zone. Broadway is an actor’s revenge. I couldn’t do Broadway again if it’s more than five a week. I’d just say no. N-O. Not doing it. I’m not saying it has to be my way. I’m saying they can get somebody else. I always listen. If your point is right, then I will make adjustments. It’s not arrogance. It’s just that I have to live with me the rest of my life.”
– Idiot Terrence Howard, currently starring on Broadway in Cat on a Hot Tin Rood
