Terrell Carter isn’t new to this—he’s true to this. With over two decades in the game, from Tyler Perry’s early stage productions to memorable roles on Empire, Carter’s always had a gift for bringing complex characters to life.
But in Netflix’s hit series Beauty in Black, he’s tapping into something deeper, something that hits home for him and so many others.
Carter plays Varney, a sharp and successful lawyer caught in a messy love story with the son of his boss. But what really makes the role special is how it flips the script on what we usually see when it comes to Black queer men on screen.
“He’s not the comic relief, he’s not the weak one, and he’s not just the butt of the jokes,” Carter told us during our The Quintessential Gentleman interview. “He’s smart…He’s a lawyer. He’s always got it together.”
That kind of representation still doesn’t show up nearly enough, and Carter knows it. For him, it’s bigger than just playing a role, it’s about showing the world that Black queer men can be layered, successful, and yes, messy in love, just like anyone else.
“I don’t think about people living in the gay world or the queer world or the this world. I think we live in the world,” Carter shares. “And because we live in the”e world, then the representation should be that we are just all human beings who wake up in the morning.”
Varney’s story might be fictional, but the feelings behind it are real. He’s falling for someone who might not feel the same way, and he’s making some questionable choices in the name of love.
“He’s done some dumb sh*t for this guy, and he’s fallen for the love bug and in many ways, the love bug hasn’t fallen for him,” Carter explains.
The role feels especially meaningful because Tyler Perry actually wrote it with Carter in mind. After working together for 20 years, that level of trust and creative freedom shows.
“The majority of some of the big things that I did was working with Tyler [Perry] and to be able to have him write this role for me…it’s amazing,” he said.
But this isn’t the only place Carter is telling his truth. His memoir, Problem Child, dives into his incredibly raw and personal story, being born to an 11-year-old special needs, one leg amputated mother, who was molested by his father, who was also a family member. It’s heavy, but it’s also a story of survival, strength, and speaking up.
“It was a story I didn’t want anyone to know,” he shares. “I didn’t want anybody to know I came from an incestual, weird family breakdown.”
But after sharing his story, Carter got so many letters from people letting him know his story blessed them. “I told my story because it is triumphant for me to come from a broken vessel,” he shared.
Carter continues to thrive as he shifts his focus to new projects, including an upcoming tribute to his late friend Angie Stone, who passed away earlier this year. Before her passing, she asked him to cover a particular song, one that brought him to tears the first time he heard it.
“Angie Stone, maybe two weeks before she passed away, told me to do a song,” Carter shared. “The song brought me to tears. And it was so crazy because I never heard it, which is a popular song by a popular artist that we all know. But it brought me to tears.” He re-recorded the song and, although he wouldn’t reveal which one it is, he assures us that he sang the f**k out of it.
He’s also re-releasing some earlier music, including a song called Better Than, a deeply personal track about his own journey, and new music like Amen, which came together in a spontaneous studio moment but turned out to be one of his most powerful yet.
Beyond the music and acting, Carter is stepping into a new chapter. He’s collaborating with Tamika Scott of Xscape on some new film projects, mentoring young artists, and planning to work more directly with HBCU students on wellness, creativity, and storytelling, especially around mental health and identity.
“I want to definitely not just give back but give to the younger generation of people who are doing what I’m doing,” he said.
At the heart of everything he’s doing—whether it’s writing, singing, or acting—is a simple truth: he knows he’s here for a reason.
“I wake up in the morning knowing this is what I’m going to do for the rest of my life,” he told us.
And that kind of faith? That kind of self-awareness? It’s exactly what makes Terrell Carter’s presence in this moment so powerful. He’s not just changing the game, he’s playing by his own rules.
Check out the full interview.
