After an impressive athletic and football career, Terry Crews turned to acting in the late 90s. It seems that Crews always had this creative streak, because in a Parade interview he says that where he grew up he was “expected to like fixing cars and [he] was not into any of it. [He] was left-handed and right-brained.” In the early 90s, Crews earned a football scholarship to continue to pay for his education (where he excelled in art and drama), and eventually went pro. He admits that he always “saw past football” and it was never his ultimate goal.

After he retired from sports, Crews pursued acting and landed the role in Battle Dome as bad-guy T-Money. In between roles, many of which were stoic side characters, Crews did security for movie sets. Eventually, rapper and actor Ice Cube insisted that Crews audition for the third installment in the Next Friday franchise. While acting in Friday After Next, Terry broke a comedic barrier and made fun of his athleticism. From there, Crews garnered many comedic roles in films and TV that played off of his physique and attitude. Crews said in the aforementioned interview that he never felt he was acting, but instead playing different versions of himself, which comes across wonderfully. Here are eight of Terry Crews’ best performances, ranked.

9 The 6th Day

Directed by Roger Spottiswoode and starring the infamous Arnold Schwarzenegger, The 6th Day tells the story of a father, Adam Gibson (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who is accidentally cloned in a high-tech future. He is cloned as a part of a plan by a shady businessman and must take action to defend his family and his name. Terry Crews plays a security agent named Vincent Bansworth and, like the three other security agents, must attempt to kill Adam to cover up the cloning operation. Crews’ fun-loving personality does not leak through in this role because he plays a tough ally to the crooked businessman. However, it was Crews’ movie debut, and he plays an intimidating bad guy pretty darn well.

8 Idiocracy

Directed and written by Mike Judge and Etan Cohen, Idiocracy is sci-fi comedy that follows Joe Bowers, played by Luke Wilson, who is accidentally transported to a dystopian future. In this future, set in 2505, society is completely dumbed down by commercialism, and Joe feels he might be the last intellectual human being alive. Terry Crews enters as President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho, a professional wrestler turned leader, who employs Joe to fix the food shortage problem. This is one of Crews' first comedic roles and a hilarious one at that. As president Camacho, he plays an unprofessional, over-the-top, reality TV-type leader. In a Collider article, the character was compared to Donald Trump during the 2016 US election.

Related Link: These Are Some of the Funniest Sci-Fi TV Shows and Movies

7 The Expendables

The Expendables film series, written by Sylvester Stallone, follows a group of mercenaries who take on difficult missions, the first one being to overthrow a dictator on the South American island of Vilena. Terry Crews plays Hale Caesar in the series, a weapons expert, and delivers comic relief at the right moments. In a Den of Geek interview, Crews says that Stallone chose him to be the comedian in an action setting and deliver humorous one-liners to balance out all the explosions. This is one of the movies that established Crews as playing himself and "making muscle funny."

6 Baadasssss!

This 2003 biographical work is directed, written, and produced by Mario Van Peebles and follows the challenges of Van Peebles's father, the classic Blaxploitation filmmaker Melvin Van Peebles, while he made the movie Sweet Sweetback’s Baadassss Song. In Baadasssss!, Terry Crews plays Big T, a production crew member and sound assistant. While Crews doesn’t have a big part in the film, he does at one point consider leaving the set when the production team is accused of stealing. Melvin quickly reminds of him how important the movie’s message is and Big T stays. In Crews’ body of work, it will go down as one of his more stoic and subtle roles.

5 Street Kings

Another one of Terry Crews’ supporting but brilliant roles. In Street Kings, Crews plays Detective Terrence Washington, former partner of Detective Tom Ludlow, played by Keanu Reeves. Ludlow is a corrupt, undercover detective and Washington, no longer corrupt, decides to go ahead and report Ludlow’s activities to the head of their unit. A serious role for Crews, but another part that illustrates his flexibility.

4 Everybody Hates Chris

The 2005 sitcom Everybody Hates Chris is based on the childhood experiences of comedian turned actor-director Chris Rock. Terry Crews plays Chris' father, Julius Rock, an overprotective and frugal parent. While his money fixation can be intense, he still has moments of humor. Even though the great family sitcom is funny, this has to be one of Crews' quieter roles, since he plays more of a concerned father than his normal, sometimes over-the-top action or comedy roles. In an interview with People, Crews revealed that Chris Rock saw him interact with his family on the set of The Longest Yard and offered him the part.

3 Brooklyn Nine-nine

This well-known NBC comedy is one of Terry Crews’ top and most prominent roles. Brooklyn Nine-Nine follows different detectives in the NYPD’s 99th precinct, including Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg), Charles Boyle, (Jo Lo Truglio), and of course, Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews). In the show, Crews plays into many of his own traits, such as his intense workouts, eating habits, and dedication to family life. In a GQ interview, Terry jokes that he considered turning down the part until the producers named the character after him, and then he felt he had to take it.

Related Link: Terry Crews Wants A Brooklyn Nine-Nine Reunion Movie on Peacock

2 Friday After Next

This is one of Terry Crews’ first and best roles. Friday After Next follows roommates Craig and Day-Day, whose presents and rent money are stolen on Christmas Eve. Their landlord, Ms. Pearly, threatens to kick them out and to send her son, Damon Pearly (Terry Crews), after them. Damon is a freshly released convict tries to sexually assault a pimp, Money Mike, bringing a crude, sexualized ridiculousness to the film. Friday After Next is one of Crews’ more over-the-top, comedic roles, but solidified the kind of characters he wanted to play. This was the role Ice Cube insisted that Terry audition for.

Related Link: Marlon Wayans Won't Do White Chicks 2 Unless They Can Do Make-Up Digitally

1 White Chicks

White Chicks is a 2004 American comedy written and directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, which was either terrible and aged even worse, or a secretly brilliant satire on race; the Wayans' movie is problematic or brilliant, depending on who you ask. The movie stars two other members of the Wayans family, Shawn and Marlon, who play two African American FBI agents, Marcus and Kevin. Marcus and Kevin go undercover as two "white chicks" at a fashion event in The Hamptons. Terry Crews plays a pro basketball player who is attracted to Marcus (as Tiffany). This role ranks high for Crews' hilarious pursuit of Marcus in the film, including a scene where he sings A Thousand Miles to him. It's a funny, go-for-broke performance that even haters of the film find endearing.

From an athlete to an actor, Terry Crews is an iconic personality who fans will continue to want more of. More recently, Crews was the voice of Tentacular in the 2021 movie Rumble, and is set to appear in the show Space Force and Tales of the Walking Dead in 2022.