Terrence Howard said he declined a potential Lee Daniels project about Marvin Gaye because he believed the role might call for an onscreen kiss with a man and he did not think he could fully inhabit the character. His account came in a conversation with Bill Maher on the Club Random podcast, reported on April 29, 2025 by The Guardian and the Los Angeles Times. The reports describe a prospective film, not a completed or released movie.
Why Howard said he turned down the role
Howard told Maher he would not fake an onscreen kiss with a man. The Guardian quoted his reply to Maher’s question: “No. Because I don’t fake it.” Howard also explained that he could not fully give himself to a character he did not understand: “I can’t play that character 100%. I can’t surrender myself to a place that I don’t understand.”
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Those remarks describe Howard’s own reasoning, not a confirmed scene in a script. The reporting does not establish that a screenplay required a kiss or that the project reached production.
How the Gaye and Robinson opportunities overlapped
Howard described two separate biopic possibilities. He said he was already in talks with director Lee Daniels about portraying Gaye when Smokey Robinson approached him about playing Robinson in another biopic. Howard said he declined Robinson’s offer because he had given Daniels his word. He later called turning Robinson down the “biggest mistake” of his career, according to The Guardian; that phrase referred to the Robinson decision, not his refusal of the Gaye role.
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- Reissue of the platinum-selling 1983 compilation of the same name, this compilation, covers Marvin Gaye's career from his key 1960s hits through the multi-chart No
The Los Angeles Times reported that Howard did not say when these conversations occurred. Vanity Fair described the Gaye film as potential and said it sought comment from Daniels’s representatives. The reviewed reports do not include a statement from Daniels confirming the project’s status.
What Howard said about rumors concerning Gaye
Howard recounted asking music producer Quincy Jones whether rumors about Gaye’s sexuality were true, and said Jones answered yes. That is Howard’s account of a conversation, not independent confirmation of either the exchange or the rumors. The coverage treats the subject as disputed: the Los Angeles Times reported that Gaye told a biographer in 1982 that he was not interested in men and that Gaye’s sister objected to Jones’s comments. The Guardian noted that Gaye did not publicly comment on his sexuality and had been married twice.
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These accounts do not establish Gaye’s sexuality, and it should not be inferred from Howard’s casting explanation. Gaye’s music, including the landmark albums What’s Going On (1971) and Let’s Get It On (1973), is distinct from the unresolved details of a proposed screen portrayal.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Was the Lee Daniels Marvin Gaye film made?
The reports cited here do not establish that the Daniels project entered production or was released. Howard described talks about a possible role; that is not evidence of a finished film. No released movie should be attributed to this reported collaboration on the basis of these accounts.
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- 50th Anniversary 2 LP set features direct-to-analog mastering from the original tapes by Kevin Gray
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- Let's Get It On is the landmark 1973 album by Marvin Gaye
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