This is very comfortable, I like it, a chilled out Terrence Howard looks down at his kandoura as he lounges on the terrace at the Al Qasr Hotel in Dubai.
"Normally I tend to wear what I think is beautiful and modest and is going to accentuate colour and form," Howard feels the need to explain his choice of attire for the day.
"Wearing white, I find, there's a purity of thought that comes along with it." He's clearly at peace in his new attire and new environment. "My first impressions of Dubai are: what a gorgeous and hospitable place."
Back and forth
Although now a pedigree Hollywood actor, it wasn't until 1995 that Howard got his big break in Mr Holland's Opus. "I thought it was magnificent. It was wonderful being able to work with Richard Dreyfuss," reminisces Howard.
"It was a six-to-eight-week-long audition for Disney — I had to keep going back and forth. But in the end it turned out to be a great film."
In his most memorable outing, Crash, which won best film at the Oscars in 2005, he plays Cameron, a Hollywood television director who compromises his values in order to make it in Hollywood. His character's accommodating nature is put to the test, when his wife (played by British actress Thandie Newton) is molested by a police officer during a profile stop.
Vanishing point
"Crash focuses on various individual story lines showing people how closely knit and connected everyone truly is," Howard explains.
He gazes far into distance, past the chirpy holiday-makers sunning themselves in the luxurious beach resort and further out into the vanishing point of the gulf. "We're not as separated as we think we are. We are all responsible for each other and our actions go out like ripples in a pond, affecting those around us more than we realise."
From making poignant and profound movies he's digressed onto making mainstream music video appearances. Why?
"Everything is so connected in this business. Most musicians that I know all want to be actors. And actors want to be singers and musicians."
Howard plays the coldhearted lover in Ashanti's R&B video Foolish and more recently he was urban singer Mary J. Blige's better half in Be Without You. "I like their music but what I love more is what Mary [J. Blige] has to say. I also like Nas. I like somebody with a message," says Howard.
Fame and fortune
"It's hard to find someone who has no aspirations towards acting and performing, who aren't in it for fame and fortune. That's a true artist in my opinion," says Howard with the stern conviction of a man who won't have his standards or mandate compromised.
"True performers or true artists are going to perform and paint whether there's anyone to look at the art or not," he reiterates.
Howard's next film is of a somewhat different nature to Crash and Ray (he acts alongside Oscar winner Jamie Foxx in the biographical film about legendary rhythm and blues musician Ray Charles). He's definitely notching up more buzz and therefore bigger budget movies.
"My next role will be in a movie called Ironman. Filming starts in March and I play a guy named James Brody who becomes a war machine," says Howard.
Is that even possible? For such a cool and collected cat like Howard it's hard to visualise him as a war machine.
Are you the baddie? "No, no ... no," he reassures me, smiling beguilingly.
Howard's portfolio
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995).
Dead Presidents (1995).
Big Momma's House (2000).
Crash (2004).
Ray (2004).
Hustle & Flow (2005).
Four Brothers (2005).
Get Rich or Die Tryin' (2005).
Idlewild (2006).
