Lucious Lyon

Lucious Lyon is the villain protagonist of the FOX musical drama Empire.

Lucious is a former gangster and 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 series, 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.