Terrence Howard: Iron Man killed my career

Terrence Howard has said that his career was killed by 'Iron Man'.

The actor, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in 'Hustle & Flow', saw his fortunes dwindle after he was replaced in the series by Don Cheadle in the role of Lt. Col. James Rhodes.

[Related story: Tony Stark Vs. Madarin in epic Iron Man 3 trailer]

When asked by Hollywood.com to tell them the worst thing he'd ever witnessed, he laughed: “Worst thing I witnessed was 'Iron Man' killing my career.”

He later went on to elaborate on his remarks in another interview with Spanish site Desde Hollywood, while doing the publicity rounds for his latest film, thriller 'Dead Man Down'.

“I love the fact that 'Iron Man' put me on a world stage and tested my strength of character,” he said.

“I chose not to fight back, not to deal with the allegations, but to continue forward and do what I had to do.

“I had to start all over: went from making $6 million (£4 million) a movie, back to $60,000 (£40,000) a movie. But as long as you don't give up you are able... I'll make $20 million soon. Because I have learned the lessons of yesterday.”

Howard was controversially dropped from the series, it's thought, after salary negotiations broke down.

The 'Crash' star was reportedly the highest-paid member of the cast in the first 'Iron Man' film, superceding even its star Robert Downey Jr.

However, director Jon Favreau, who was said to have been unhappy with Howard's performance, sought to address the disparity when negotiating salaries for the second film.

It's claimed Howard would not move on his pay demands, and the role was instead given to Don Cheadle.

'Dead Man Down', which also stars Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace, is out this weekend in the US, and on May 3 in the UK.