Lucious Lyon

Lucious Lyon is the villain protagonist of the FOX musical drama Empire. He is a former gangster and the CEO of Empire Records, the ex-husband of Cookie Lyon, and father of their three sons Andre, Jamal, and Hakeem.

He is played by Terrence Howard.

In the pilot, Lucious learns he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and only has a few years left to live, and the first season, from then on, revolves around his efforts to find the perfect successor by setting his sons against one another in a competition.

So far, Lucious is shown to favor his youngest son Hakeem over his musically gifted son Jamal (whom he despises for being gay) and his eldest, more business-savvy son Andre (who's also plotting to take over Empire).

In the pilot, Lucious murders his long-time friend and cousin-in-law Bunky after he demands a large sum of money from him.

In the first season finale, Lucious learns that he was misdiagnosed and chooses Jamal to run Empire. By the episode's end, he is arrested for the murder of Bunky and imprisoned. The season ends with Lucious swearing vengeance upon those who put him away.