Terrence Howard has declared he's retired from acting.

The 'Empire' star says he decided to step away from the TV and movie industry two years ago and he's now definitely done after concluding work on his latest small screen project 'The Best Man: The Final Chapters' - insisting there are "better actors" out there who can take over from him.

He told Etonline.com: "This is the end for me. This is the end for me. I don't know if it's the end for the rest of them. I retired two years ago, for the most part. I was done ... I asked Sidney Poitier 10 years ago does he want to do any more work, and he said, 'Why would I spend my last 10 years doing an impersonation of myself?' And that's what I've gotten to."

Terrence went on to add: "I've gotten to the point where now I've given the very best that I have as an actor. Now I'm enjoying watching other new talent come around, and I don't want to do an impersonation of myself."

"Yes, there's some better actors out there that can do things that I was never able to do," he said. "So, I want to applaud them, I want to be excited about what they do."

The actor made similar comments two years ago when his hit series 'Empire' came to an end but he eventually went back to work.

Speaking two years ago, he told 'Extra': "I'm done with acting. I'm done pretending." When he was then asked if he plans to focus on philanthropy, he replied: "No, not philanthropy; I'm just focusing on bringing truth to the world." But Terrence did admit he'll miss his 'Empire' co-stars when filming ends. He said: "I love the cast members. I will miss them a great deal, and the crew."