Lucious Lyon (born Dwight Walker) is a fictional character from the American musical drama Empire on Fox, portrayed by Terrence Howard. Lucious is the main protagonist and anti-hero of the series. Created by Lee Daniels and Danny Strong, Lucious is the founder and CEO of Empire Entertainment, a world famous and renowned record company that he runs with his family. Realizing he will need a successor after he is diagnosed with ALS, Lucious pits his three sons—the college educated executive Andre Lyon (Trai Byers), the talented and singer/songwriter Jamal (Jussie Smollett) and youngest rapper Hakeem (Bryshere Y. Gray) -- against one another. The story parallels William Shakespeare's King Lear and James Goldman's The Lion in Winter.