Terry Crews gets emotional hearing about his dad's 'horrifying' past for the 1st time

Terry Crews said he always had a complicated relationship with his father. During an appearance on Season Eight of the PBS show "Finding Your Roots," the actor gained a better understanding of the "heartbreaking" series of events that made Terry Crews Sr. cultivate his domineering personality.

Speaking to host Henry Louis Gates Jr., Crews opened up about his father's struggle with alcohol addiction, which translated to abusive tendencies.

"I wet the bed 'til I was 15 years old because I did not know what was going to happen every night. I'd wake up to screaming, glass breaking. I said, 'I gotta find a way out,'" he said.

What the 54-year-old didn't expect to hear was that Crews Sr. also had a troubled childhood.

While combing through Crews' family tree, Gates shared a discovery with the star: Edward Crews, Crews Sr.'s father, abandoned his children and was in and out of jail when Crews Sr. was young.

“My father never said anything about this," Crews said, adding that his uncle had hinted at the fact that his dad hardly ever showed up for his children.

“How do you think having a father in and out of jail growing up affected your father?" Gates asked.

"That right there had to be devastating to a 9, 10, 11-year-old. It had to be horrifying," Crews replied.

Gates said one of Crews' uncles told him that he and Crews' father would visit their dad in prison every weekend. He would always promise to "do better" when he got out. But he never did.

In 1954, 11 years after they were married, Crews' grandmother sued her husband for the abandonment of their kids. Crews' father was 9 years old at the time.

“This is so heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking,” Crews said in response.

In 1963, just five years after he was discharged from prison, Crews Sr.'s father died of an epileptic seizure at the age of 38.

“He was young, 38 years is young. Wow, five years after he got out," the actor said, adding that his dad never spoke to him about this tragic moment in his life.

Considering all that his father went through as a child, Gates was curious to know if these new discoveries changed the way that Crews thought about his dad.

"Yeah, I mean hurt people hurt people and that's one thing I've learned in all my walks," the star said.

When asked if he would share his family tree with his father, Crews said, "Definitely." Gates had one piece of advice for him.

"I'd have your counselor standing by," he suggested.

"I keep him on speaker phone (and say), 'Just chime in when I need your help, sir,'" Crews joked.

During the episode, Crews said that he has come to terms with his difficult childhood.

"My mother was doing the best she could with what she had, with what she knew. It's kind of like a saying that we have in the entertainment industry: 'There are really no villains. They're just people trying to get what they want,'" he explained.

"That goes for my father, too. He was doing what he knew to do and usually if you know better, you do better," he continued.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com