If you haven’t welcomed the sitcom Brooklyn Nine-Nine into your life, then it’s about time that you let the joy in. Set in the Brooklyn precinct of the New York Police Department, the show follows the squad as they meander their way through both ridiculous scenarios and serious issues, while flexing their excellent slapstick skills, pinging out incredible one-liners and improvising as they go. The cast is made up of a very special collection of people, who seem to be as chummy in real life as they are in the show, but there’s one cast member who’s proven to be a bit of a diamond and that’s Terry Crews.
Protect Terry Crews at all costs. That’s something regularly tweeted by die-hard Terry Crews fans, Brooklyn Nine-Nine fans and supporters of equal rights. The former American football player and sometimes action hero plays the beefed up, yoghurt loving, doting father sergeant Terry Jeffords but in recent years, he’s found a place in the Me Too movement, supporting women and sharing his own experiences of sexual assault. So if you’re about to start a beautiful and binge-ful new journey with Brooklyn Nine-Nine, make sure to leave some room to start a new journey as a Crews fan, for he (and his show) are set to be your go-to happy place. Your VBF, as it were.
Born in Flint, Michigan in 1968, Crews joined the NFL in 1991 and played for the Los Angeles Rams, the San Diego Chargers, the Washington Redskins – I could just start making up different football team names now, but I won’t – and the Philadelphia Eagles until his retirement in 1997.
He reportedly spent two years sweeping floors until he landed his first acting gig in Battle Dome, a scripted show not unlike Gladiators. Small acting roles began to crop up but in a surprise twist . . . the former American football player proved to be a brilliant comedic actor and landed roles in 2004’s White Chicks, 2005’s The Longest Yard and in Chris Rock’s semi-autobiographical sitcom Everybody Hates Chris playing Rock’s father Julius for four seasons.
Moving so easily from the world of sport to life as a full-time actor, Crews has proven that he has a real ability to go against type, something he did again with his 2014 book Manhood: How to Be a Better Man – or Just Live With One. In this book, he challenges the idea of toxic masculinity, explaining how damaging it can be.
Released one year into his role as Sergeant Jeffords, he used his new platform to speak about other issues, like his own addiction to pornography which he went to rehab for.
In 2017, he tweeted his own experience of sexual assault in the film industry. In an interview a year later with Buzzfeed, he explained the risks he took speaking out and the impact it’s had on his career. “I walk in the room, and the room is split right down the middle. It just divides right there. It’s kind of like lightning.”
But the support of his Nine-Nine cast mates is unwavering. Andy Samberg, who plays the lead role of Jake Peralta, said he’s proud to know him. “We have a cast text chain and we were all texting him how incredible it was,” he said. “He’s a miracle. Terry’s the best guy.” He really is.
While season six of Brooklyn Nine-Nine returned to American TV in January, season five is coming to Netflix on March 8th, where seasons one to four are waiting for you.
