Terrence Howard is here for PBS, as this season's host of "Independent Lens," which looks at "Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes" on Feb. 20.

The Philly-based actor, who was nominated for an Oscar for "Hustle & Flow," traces his love for PBS to everything from childhood encounters with "Sesame Street's" Elmo to "Nova."

So he was a science kid?

"Every kid is a science kid," said Howard, who studied chemical engineering at New York's Pratt Institute.

"When I was a child, I never had the money to support PBS," he said, and now he can.

"Independent Lens' " mission is particularly close to Howard's heart.

"My career has been based on independent films," he said, and hosting "Independent Lens" is an extension of his efforts to support independent filmmakers.

"I would love to just be a period in one of their sentences."