Former NFL Player-Turned-Actor Terry Crews on What Makes a Man in 2014

By Carla Murphy Dec 02, 2014

A highlight of a new interview with "Brooklyn Nine-Nine" actor Terry Crews is when he tells a story of his 6-year-old son’s shame at having to admit feeling afraid in front of him (12:45-15:07). He saw himself in his son’s vulnerability and handled it in a way that’s perhaps different from how he grew up in 1970s Flint, Mich. Crews recently keynoted a Canadian conference, "What Makes A Man," and sat with Elamin Abdelmahmoud* to talk feminism ("it scares men") and manhood.  His talk comes at a time when a number of high-profile and beloved male entertainers–Bill Cosby, Ray Rice and, in Canada, Jian Ghomeshi–are forcing public and revelatory conversations about the bounds of appropriate manhood. Crews, who’s spoken openly about growing up watching his father hit his mother, doesn’t mind all the debate though. He thinks it gives men an opportunity to re-direct and choose healthier ways to be.

 

* Post has been updated since publication with the correct name of Crews’ interviewer, Elamin Abdelmahmoud of "The Agenda with Steve Paiken."