Emmy contenders: ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s’ Terry Crews brings inspiration

“I really believe we don’t survive off food. We survive off the energy of other people.”

If what Terry Crews says is true, then after our conversation with him, we can go on a fast for a week. The “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star and “Lip Sync Battle” champion dropped by The Times’ studio Thursday, delivering a half-hour of spirit and inspiration and, yes, because you asked, dancing pectoral muscles.

Crews talked about how his wife of 26 years, Rebecca, keeps him real and the ways his five children both ground him and delight him. He didn’t gloss over the rough patches, either, remembering a time several years ago when he looked at his marriage and “it was gone.”

“She was like, ‘I’m out, I’m done,’” Crews says. “And all of a sudden, you see yourself ... and this pall came over me. And then we worked it out.”

He also spoke about “Nine-Nine” or, as he calls the show’s ensemble, the “comedic Avengers,” with Crews naturally being the precinct’s Hulk. And there were many other topics -- horseback riding, ribbon dancing, the proper technique for lifting a car -- in a conversation that more than lived up to Crews’ main ambition as a performer.

“I had to figure out what Terry Crews’ No. 1 job is,” Crews says. “Entertain. Entertain. Entertain. No matter what.”

Twitter: @glennwhipp