T<$c$>errence Howard is more than a leading man. He cemented that status with an Academy Award nomination last year for his performance as a pimp-turned-rapper in “Hustle & Flow.” He takes the lead again in “Pride,” which opened on Friday.But his big-screen work represents only one of his passions. Howard, 38, is also a producer, honing his skills behind the camera with a credit on “Pride.” He’s a musician, currently at work on his debut album. He studies physics for fun, and he’s a father of three trying to reunite with his wife (whom he has married twice). He also has a newfound community awareness, thanks to Jim Ellis, the real-life schoolteacher he portrays in “Pride.” Ellis founded the first all-black swim team in Philadelphia in the 1970s, and 33 years later, he’s still coaching at the same inner-city pool.

“Most of the time you feel like you’re responsible to yourself and your family,” said Howard. “But as part of the human race, what one of us does, everyone does. I feel like I’m a lot more conscious of my responsibility now.”

Howard trained with Ellis for months to learn his character. He was so personally moved by the man that he was inspired to look within and question whether he has been “a good son to the community.”

“How much have I given back? I’m not sure,” Howard wondered aloud. “I’ve been working at that.”

Howard transformed himself into the coach during filming, said “Pride” director Sunu Gonera.

“When Terrence got on the set, he was Jim Ellis to the kids,” he said. “He was a leader to them and they responded right away.”

The actor said he seeks out characters that teach him about himself: “It’s like, how do I relate to this guy and how can he help me in my life, making the choices I need to make.”

When it comes to his career, the choices are more varied and more difficult since his Oscar-nominated performance. Scripts pour in. But Howard feels more pressure to perform — both at the box office and at his craft.

“When one actor does something, other actors have to measure up to that bar,” he says. “So with what (Oscar winner) Forest (Whitaker) is doing, what everyone is doing, it’s like `Oh God, now we’ll never be able to rest.”’

Not that he’s been resting. Besides “Pride,” Howard has leading roles in two other films due this year: “The Brave One” with Jodie Foster, and “Spring Break in Bosnia” with Richard Gere. He has also finished “August Rush,” a drama with Robin Williams, and “Awake,” a thriller with Jessica Alba. Just this month, he started filming the special-effects laden comic-book adventure “Iron Man.”

And his work doesn’t stop there. The self-taught guitarist and pianist recorded the first track for his future album this week. He was so excited with the results that he couldn’t wait to share them with a visitor.

“Want to hear a song we just recorded? I was in the studio last night,” he said as he pressed play on the CD player in front of him. Howard bobbed his head to the rock-infused groove, which features his vocal and guitar-playing skills. Grammy-nominated singer Chris Brown was an unexpected collaborator on the track.

“That’s one of the beautiful things about this business,” Howard said. “I’m just recording my song, then all of the sudden Chris Brown comes in.”

Howard hopes to release the single over the summer and the full album, a mix of Spanish guitar and R&B that he calls “urban country,” in the fall.

He’ll mix music and movies again next year when he reunites with “Hustle” director Craig Brewer on a biopic of country crooner Charley Pride. Howard also dreams of one day playing Bob Marley on the big screen.

He was destined to be an actor, he said. It was practically the family business. Howard’s great-grandmother, Minnie Gentry, was a stage star, and his grandmother, mother and uncle were actors, too.

But deep down, he really wanted to be a science teacher.

“My main love is still physics,” he said. “I want to go back to school and get my doctorate in it.”

When prompted, he effortlessly explains wave-particle theory and the law of entanglement.

But it might be awhile before he can return to school. Howard is booked up solid for the foreseeable future.

Free time is spent with his children Aubrey, 13, Hunter, 11, and Heavenly, 9 — and trying to reconcile with wife Lori, from whom he’s separated.

“I’m still chasing after, trying to regroup with my wife,” he said. “I’m always campaigning for that.”