Terry Crews describes growing up and experiencing awe on ‘Wild Card’

Transcript:

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

Every week, a guest draws a card from our Wild Card deck and answers a big question about their lives. Terry Crews is known for his comedic roles in TV shows like “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” and his newest show, “Everybody Still Hates Chris. He says, as a Black kid growing up in struggling Flint, Mich., he never thought his life would be this good. He talked to Wild Card host Rachel Martin about appreciating whatever life throws at him. Here’s Rachel.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)

RACHEL MARTIN: One, two, three?

TERRY CREWS: Three.

MARTIN: Three. Where have you experienced awe?

CREWS: Where? Oh, man, when I went to Iceland.

MARTIN: Oh.

CREWS: I went to Iceland. I actually went to Iceland to do the Bear Grylls show.

MARTIN: Oh, did you really?

CREWS: Yeah. I mean, what was insane – they took us on a helicopter up to this mountain, on top of a volcano, and dropped us off there. And I’m like, oh, my God. Now, it took everything I could do to hold onto the side of this mountain. And he…

MARTIN: I have to just pause. Does everyone know who Bear Grylls is? For listeners who don’t know, he’s a survivalist.

CREWS: Yes.

MARTIN: He takes you to the edge of the Earth, and you have deep, meaningful conversation, but also, you’re, like, in the middle of nowhere.

CREWS: You’re in the middle of nowhere. Like, there’s no – there’s nothing. And the helicopter flies away, right?

MARTIN: Right.

CREWS: But let me tell you this – what blew my mind. I’m hanging on the side of this mountain and trying not to fall because it’s really dangerous – like, and I’m going, oh, they weren’t kidding. And his camera crew is doing it backwards.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

CREWS: And I’m going, hey, man, how? What? The sound man and the camera guy is hanging on the side of the mountain with me.

MARTIN: Wait, was that your moment of awe – when you, like, saw the crew (laughter)?

CREWS: That was it. I was going, how the hell are you doing this, man? Because I can’t…

MARTIN: I thought you were going to talk about..

CREWS: Oh, no.

MARTIN: …The sacred nature of the fjords…

CREWS: Oh, no. No.

MARTIN: …That you saw.

CREWS: No. It was…

MARTIN: The beautiful hot pools.

CREWS: I want to mention Bear Grylls’ crew (laughter). They left me in awe.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

CREWS: I was like, what? You guys are superheroes. Like, what are you doing?

MARTIN: Not the answer I thought I was getting.

CREWS: Now, now, mind you, mind you, after filming, after we did our whole thing, I did get to sleep at the base of this volcano.

MARTIN: Wow.

CREWS: And that was my nature awe moment. And I was never – I had never done anything like that in my life. And you’re in Iceland. Like, the sky is just – there’s no street lights or nothing. It’s – pow – like, you see galaxies.

MARTIN: Yeah.

CREWS: You know, and you’re like (gasps). Like, if you just – literally, you’re laying there, looking up, and you’re going to fall in – that kind of thing. I’ve never experienced that. That was awe. I felt, like, this small.

MARTIN: Yeah.

CREWS: You know what I mean?

MARTIN: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

CREWS: Where you’re just like, oh, my God, this world is so gigantic.

MARTIN: And does that make you feel unsettled or good – the feeling?

CREWS: It makes me feel good.

MARTIN: It makes you feel good to feel…

CREWS: It makes me feel excellent.

MARTIN: …Small in the universe.

CREWS: And I was – I felt grounded. Like, here I am, I’m laying on the dirt. You know what I mean?

MARTIN: Yeah.

CREWS: Like, I’m – I’m like, I’m part of this, you know? It was really cool. Like, I just felt awe about the power that’s out there and all the things I don’t know. It just made me so – I was filled with awe.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DETROW: That’s actor Terry Crews talking with Wild Card host Rachel Martin. His show, “Everybody Still Hates Chris,” is out now. And to hear the entire conversation, follow the Wild Card podcast.