Terry Crews Explains Why He Wanted To Host ‘America’s Got Talent’
NBC Reading Time: 2 minutes
We’re excited to see Terry Crews return to America’s Got Talent as host of Season 14, and it seems like he’s excited too. The former NFL star and Brooklyn Nine-Nine actor recently shared why he was so eager to host, and what he hopes to bring to the AGT table.
Terry told IndieWire that there was something missing after he transitioned from sports to acting — the audience. “Being an old football player, I realized that you don’t make tackles for the money or all of the accolades — you do it for the cheers. You do it for the crowd participation.”
Terry added that he was “jealous” of comedians for receiving instant laughs. He would even sneak into screenings of his movies to hear the audience reaction. Terry said he got “hooked” on hosting after his first gig on New Year’s Eve. He later sought out similar jobs, guest-hosting shows like The View and The Talk and appearing on almost 200 episodes of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Terry Is Serious About Hosting
The AGT: Champions emcee takes hosting as seriously as he did his football career, saying he’s “coachable” and even watches back tapes of himself to improve. He added that AGT judge and producer Simon Cowell has helped him shape his hosting style.
“I would do something where I thought, ‘If this doesn’t work, I’m fired,’” Terry told IndieWire. “All of a sudden, [Cowell] was like, ‘No, I love it — I love it!’ So I thought, ‘Damn, go with those instincts, man.’”
What Terry Brings To The AGT Table
Terry’s instincts for hosting include taking a more active role and encouraging the contestants, whereas in the past he’s been more hesitant to “interfere.”
“The cool thing is that whatever they need me to be, that’s what I am,” Terry told IndieWire of his AGT gig. “It’s the biggest platform on the world’s biggest talent show, and I’m the biggest host — pound for pound, you know?”
We can’t wait to see what Terry has up his sleeve for Season 14 (including which act will earn his Golden Buzzer). The new season premieres May 28 at 8/7 c on NBC.
