Terrence Howard stars in Pride. Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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Last week SI writer Richard Deitsch interviewed Terrence Howard for the magazine's Q&A. The Academy Award-nominated actor (Hustle & Flow) plays swim coach Jim Ellis in Pride.

SI: Describe your experience with the sport of swimming prior to filming this movie?

Howard: I've always been a fan of really beautiful woman, and I never appreciated women with muscular bodies until I started learning to swim for this movie. I went to a few swim meets and these women climb out of the water very gracefully, but with shoulders and backs twice the size of mine. You see that water trickling off of them, and the grace by which they hold themselves. There is a natural sense about them. I was like, Hmmm.

SI: Do you swim?

Howard: Now I do. I can flip turn and I can get across a 25-meter pool in a 12-and-a-half strokes. But I started off at 23 strokes.

SI: How much time did you spend with Jim Ellis?

Howard: Three months. I live in Philadelphia so for me it was easy to get up in the morning and go down to Marcus Foster Pool and sit down and watch him deal with his kids at 5 in the morning. After a couple of weeks I was like: You know what? I'm going to have to get in this water. So I put down my McDonalds and tried to swim across that pool with 12 and 14 and 15-year-olds who swim 4,000 yards a day.

SI: Was that intimidating?

Howard: Yeah, because I couldn't do 25 yards. I couldn't do one full lap without being tired and they can't stop. Jim doesn't let them stop.

SI: So when you couldn't make it across, what did Jim say?

Howard: Jim did not say it. A 15-year-old girl looked at me and said, 'You swim like a wounded animal. And you're fat. I thought she liked me (laughs).

SI: Why did the story appeal to you?

Howard: Jim is perpetually encouraging no matter who you are and where you are. It's subtle, gentle persuasion. That's what he does. He does not raise his voice. He just uses his smile. He wants nothing but for you to do your best and when you fail to do your best, he lets you know.

SI: You talked to 123 pimps to prepare for the role of DJ in Hustle & Flow. What kind of research did you do for this world?

Howard: Any coach is basically an extension of the home. He's a father figure and I've had the experience for 14 years of being a father and just trying to get the best out of your kids. But I talked to a number of different swim coaches and listened to their styles, Most of them had to develop their own swim programs. There's books on how to swim but most of those books are outdated so these people came up with innovative ways of changing the style and the sport. I talked to all types of coaches, three different female coaches, two different male coaches and Ellis.

SI: Did Jim speak about whether race played a factor in how his program was looked at?

Howard: He never spoke about the racial limitations. He spoke more of the city's lackadaisical attitude. Basically, they are dropping the ball on the community because things are not funded properly. He still works with a pool that is not heated during the winter. They have to warm up the pool in the morning with a hose so his students won't go into hypothermia. But limitation brings about genius. We're trying to come up with building a suitable facility in the inner-city for these students.

SI: By USA Swimming accounts, less than one percent of 232,000 competitive swimmers in the United States are black. Can this film change the perceptions of African-Americans in swimming?