Trivia: Bearing talent and good looks in equal measure, African American actor Omar Epps first became visible to audiences and critics alike with his 1992 film debut in Ernest R. Dickerson's urban drama Juice. Epps shone in his role as one of a group of four Harlem friends trying to make good, with the praise he earned for his work paving the way for steady industry employment.Born Omar Hashim Epps in Brooklyn, New York, on July 23, 1973, Epps was raised by his mother, an elementary school principal. He nurtured his interest in acting at both the Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the New York High School for the Performing Arts. After his breakthrough in Juice, Epps ran the risk of being typecast, playing athletes in a series of films. However, his performances were consistently solid, and he earned particular acclaim for his portrayal of a young man attending college on an athletic scholarship in John Singleton's Higher Learning (1995). Around this same time, Epps also excelled in a brief recurring role as an emotionally stressed intern on E.R.; he would later identify that role as the one that made it possible for audiences to finally put a name to his face.After some memorable roles in Scream 2, In Too Deep, and Love & Basketball, Epps entered the 2000's strong. He would appear in various films over the coming years, like Perfume, Big Trouble, and Against the Ropes. Epps would also find tremendous success on the small sceen, with a starring role on the massively popular medical drama House M.D.

Trivia: Infamous 25-year-old gangsta rapper and actor Tupac Shakur was shot and killed before he had a chance to fulfill the promise of a successful career in both fields. He was born in New York City and his mother Afeni Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party. Shakur spent much of his youth in Oakland, CA, where he first gained notice as a rapper in 1991 with the group Digital Underground. Later that year, he released a solo album, 2Pacalypse Now that earned both notoriety and acclaim from fans of the genre. Shakur began his acting career in the late '80s with an appearance on the television series A Different World. He made his feature film debut in 1992 with the film Juice and followed it up co-starring with Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice in 1993. Shakur had a certain charisma that always made him stand out in his films. This was especially true in Gridlock'd (1997) which proved that the versatile young artist had the makings of being a major star. Unfortunately, he was murdered during a drive-by shooting outside a Las Vegas hotel a few months before its release. Just before he died, Shakur was also involved in another film, Gang Related (1997).

Trivia: American character actor Khalil Kain built a varied and substantial resumé from the early '90s onward, in a dazzling combination of films and television series. Though he debuted as Raheem in director Ernest Dickerson's urban crime drama Juice, Kain quickly broke the mold of roles traditionally offered to young African-American males by branching off into some unusual and variegated arenas. He followed up his Dickerson work with a turn as Private Roosevelt Hobbs in the Penny Marshall-directed, Danny DeVito-headlined service comedy Renaissance Man (1994), then landed guest appearances in such sitcoms as Suddenly Susan and Friends, and a plum role as porno star Venus, in Dan Ireland's romantic triangle-themed erotic dramedy The Velocity of Gary (1998). Kain returned to urban material (albeit unconventional urban material) opposite rapper Snoop Dogg in Dickerson's gruesome haunted-house movie Bones (2001). He also played Gene in the mockumentary Dave Barry's Complete Guide to Guys (2005), headlined by columnist Barry, actor John Cleese and footballer Dan Marino, and played Darnell Wilkes in the sitcom Girlfriends.

Trivia: After spending the 1980s playing a series of drug addict and character parts, Samuel L. Jackson emerged in the 1990s as one of the most prominent and well-respected actors in Hollywood. Work on a number of projects, both high-profile and low-key, has given Jackson ample opportunity to display an ability marked by both remarkable versatility and smooth intelligence.Born December 21, 1948, in Washington, D.C., Jackson was raised by his mother and grandparents in Chattanooga, TN. He attended Atlanta's Morehouse College, where he was co-founder of Atlanta's black-oriented Just Us Theater (the name of the company was taken from a famous Richard Pryor routine). Jackson arrived in New York in 1977, beginning what was to be a prolific career in film, television, and on the stage. After a plethora of character roles of varying sizes, Jackson was discovered by the public in the role of the hero's tempestuous, drug-addict brother in 1991's Jungle Fever, directed by another Morehouse College alumnus, Spike Lee. Jungle Fever won Jackson a special acting prize at the Cannes Film Festival and thereafter his career soared. Confronted with sudden celebrity, Jackson stayed grounded by continuing to live in the Harlem brownstone where he'd resided since his stage days. 1994 was a particularly felicitous year for Jackson; while his appearances in Jurassic Park (1993) and Menace II Society (1993) were still being seen in second-run houses, he co-starred with John Travolta as a mercurial hit man in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, a performance that earned him an Oscar nomination. His portrayal of an embittered father in the more low-key Fresh earned him additional acclaim. The following year, Jackson landed third billing in the big-budget Die Hard With a Vengeance and also starred in the adoption drama Losing Isaiah. His versatility was put on further display in 1996 with the release of five very different films: The Long Kiss Goodnight, a thriller in which he co-starred with Geena Davis as a private detective; an adaptation of John Grisham's A Time to Kill, which featured him as an enraged father driven to murder; Steve Buscemi's independent Trees Lounge; The Great White Hype, a boxing satire in which the actor played a flamboyant boxing promoter; and Hard Eight, the directorial debut of Paul Thomas Anderson.After the relative quiet of 1997, which saw Jackson again collaborate with Tarantino in the critically acclaimed Jackie Brown and play a philandering father in the similarly acclaimed Eve's Bayou (which also marked his debut as a producer), the actor lent his talents to a string of big-budget affairs (an exception being the 1998 Canadian film The Red Violin). Aside from an unbilled cameo in Out of Sight (1998), Jackson was featured in leading roles in The Negotiator (1998), Sphere (1998), and Deep Blue Sea (1999). His prominence in these films added confirmation of his complete transition from secondary actor to leading man, something that was further cemented by a coveted role in what was perhaps the most anticipated film of the decade, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999), the first prequel to George Lucas' Star Wars trilogy. Jackson followed through on his leading man potential with a popular remake of Gordon Parks' seminal 1971 blaxploitation flick Shaft. Despite highly publicized squabbling between Jackson and director John Singleton, the film was a successful blend of homage, irony, and action; it became one of the rare character-driven hits in the special effects-laden summer of 2000.From hard-case Shaft to fragile as glass, Jackson once again hoodwinked audiences by playing against his usual super-bad persona in director M. Night Shyamalan's eagerly anticipated follow-up to The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable (2000). In his role as Bruce Willis' brittle, frail antithesis, Jackson proved that though he can talk trash and break heads with the best of them, he's always compelling to watch no matter what the role may be. Next taking a rare lead as a formerly successful pianist turned schizophrenic on the trail of a killer in the little-seen The Caveman's Valentine, Jackson turned in yet another compelling and sympathetic performance. Following an instance of road rage opposite Ben Affleck in Changing Lanes (2002), Jackson stirred film geek controversy upon wielding a purple lightsaber in the eagerly anticipated Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones. Despite rumors that the color of the lightsaber may have had some sort of mythical undertone, Jackson laughingly assured fans that it was a simple matter of his suggesting to Lucas that a purple lightsaber would simply "look cool," though he was admittedly surprised to see that Lucas had obliged him Jackson eventually saw the final print. A few short months later filmgoers would find Jackson recruiting a muscle-bound Vin Diesel for a dangerous secret mission in the spy thriller XXX.Jackson reprised his long-standing role as Mace Windu in the last segment of George Lucas's Star Wars franchise to be produced, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005). It (unsurprisingly) grossed almost four hundred million dollars, and became that rare box-office blockbuster to also score favorably (if not unanimously) with critics; no less than Roger Ebert proclaimed it "spectacular." Jackson co-headlined 2005's crime comedy The Man alongside Eugene Levy and 2006's Joe Roth mystery Freedomland with Julianne Moore and Edie Falco, but his most hotly-anticipated release at the time of this writing is August 2006's Snakes on a Plane, a by-the-throat thriller about an assassin who unleashes a crate full of vipers onto a aircraft full of innocent (and understandably terrified) civilians. Produced by New Line Cinema on a somewhat low budget, the film continues to draw widespread buzz that anticipates cult status. Black Snake Moan, directed by Craig Brewer (Hustle and Flow) dramatizes the relationship between a small-town girl (Christina Ricci) and a blues player (Jackson). The picture is slated for release in September 2006 with Jackson's Shaft collaborator, John Singleton, producing.Jackson would spend the ensuing years appearing in a number of films, like Home of the Brave, Resurrecting the Champ, Lakeview Terrace, Django Unchained, and the Marvel superhero franchise films like Thor, Iron Man, and The Avengers, playing superhero wrangler Nick Fury.

Trivia: One of the most prominent female hip-hoppers of the 1990s thanks to her soulful and uplifting rhymes, Queen Latifah has also crafted an increasingly successful screen presence.Born Dana Owens in Newark, NJ, on March 18, 1970, this police officer's daughter worked at Burger King before joining the group Ladies Fresh as a human beatbox. Disgusted at the misogynistic, male-dominated rap scene, Owens adapted the moniker of Queen Latifah (meaning delicate and sensitive in Arabic) and was soon on her way to changing the way many people looked at hip hop. Soon gaining a loyal following due to her unique perspective and role model-inspiring attitude, Latifah recorded the single "Wrath of My Madness" in 1988 and the following year she released her debut album, All Hail the Queen. Making her feature debut three short years later in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, Latifah began refining a screen persona that would be equally adept in both drama and comedy. After starring as magazine editor Khadijah James on the FOX sitcom Living Single (1993-1998) and landing increasingly prominent film roles in Set It Off (1996), Living Out Loud (1998), and The Bone Collector (1999), she was given her own personal televised outlet in the form of The Queen Latifah Show in 1999. Losing her brother in a motorcycle accident in 1995 (she still wears the motorbike's key around her neck) in addition to grieving a friend who was shot when the two were carjacked the same year, Latifah has persisted in overcoming tragedy to remain positive and creative. The talented songstress has also appeared as both the Wicked Witch of the West (1998's The Wizard of Oz) and Glenda the Good (The O.Z. in 2002), in addition to remaining an innovative and inspiring recording artist. In 2003, Latifah hit a watershed moment in her career and in the public perception of her image: she signed to portray Matron Mama Morton in Rob Marshall's bold cinematization of the Bob Fosse musical Chicago. For Latifah, the turn embodied a breakthrough to end all breakthroughs - it dramatically reshaped the artist's image from that of a hip-hop singer turned actress to that of a multitalented, one-woman powerhouse with astonishing gifts in every arena of performance - voice, drama and dance. Latifah deservedly netted an Oscar nomination for this role, but lost to Catherine Zeta-Jones, who played Velma Kelly in the same film.Later that same year, the multifaceted singer/actress took a dramatic step down in ambition and sophistication, joining Steve Martin for the odd couple comedy Bringing Down the House. That farce tells the occasionally rollicking story of a hyper-anal white lawyer (Martin) who attempts to "hook up" with a barrister he meets online, but discovers that she is (surprise!) actually a slang-tossing black prison escapee with a mad taste for hip hop dancing (Latifah). Ironically - given the seemingly foolproof and ingenious premise - the film collapsed, thanks in no small part to an awkward and craven screenplay that fails to see the logic of its situations through to fruition, and wraps with a ludicrous denouement. The film did score with viewers, despite devastating reviews from critics across the country. (If nothing else, the picture offers the uproarious sight of Martin in hip-hop attire, and does celebrate Latifah's everpresent message of much-deserved respect for black women). Latifah's onscreen activity skyrocketed over the following half-decade, with an average of around 5-7 roles per year. One of her most popular efforts, Barbershop 2: Back in Business (2004), constitutes a sequel to the urban comedy-drama Barbershop (2002). The original picture (without Latifah in the cast) concerned the proprietors and patrons of a (mostly) all-black barbershop on the south side of Chicago, with seriocomic lead characters portrayed by Ice-T, Cedric the Entertainer and others. In the second Barbershop go-round, Latifah plays Gina, the owner of an inner-city beauty parlor who operates her business next door. Those films reached a combined total of around $143 million worldwide, thanks in no small part to a pitch-perfect demographic that flocked to both efforts without abandon. The pictures also generated a Latifah-dominated sequel, Beauty Shop (2005), devoted to the exploits of Gina, her customers, and her employees, particularly the flamboyantly gay stylist Jorge Christoph (Kevin Bacon). The movie expanded the target audience of its predecessors and upped the ante by working in WASPy female characters played by A-listers Andie MacDowell and Mena Suvari and having Gina move her shop to the more audience-friendly Atlanta. Though the picture failed to match the grosses of its predecessors, it did reel in just under $38 million worldwide. Each of the installments generated mixed reviews from critics, Concurrent with Beauty Shop's release, Latifah signed on to collaborate with director Mark Forster and stars Will Ferrell and Emma Thompson in the comedy-fantasy Stranger than Fiction (2006). In that picture - about a man (Ferrell) who discovers he is the character in a book by a washed-up author (Thompson), and due to be killed shortly, Latifah plays Penny Escher, the "assistant" hired to end Thompson's creative block and put her back on track. Though Latifah's constituted a minor role (and, arguably, a throwaway at that), the film itself scored on all fronts, including craftsmanship, audience reactions, box office and critical response. After voicing Ellie in the CG-animated feature Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006), Latifah revisited cinematic song-and-dance (and reteamed with House director Adam Shankman) for the hotly-anticipated musical comedy Hairspray, based on the hit Broadway production (which was, in turn, based on the 1988 John Waters film). Latifah plays Motormouth Maybelle, in a cast that also includes Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer and an in-drag John Travolta, reprising the role originated by Divine. Latifah signed to star alongside Diane Keaton and Katie Holmes in the crime comedy Mad Money -- a remake of the British farce Hot Money (with echoes of 1976's How to Beat the High Cost of Living) about a trio of female janitors in the Federal Reserve bank who team up to rob the place blind. In addition to music, movies, and television, Latifah also found time to author a book on self-esteem entitled Ladies First: Revelations of a Strong Woman, and to serve as co-chairman of the Owens Scholarship Foundation, Inc., which provides assistance to academically gifted but financially underpriveleged students.

Trivia: Supporting actor Campos has been onscreen from 1970.

Trivia: Started dancing in New York, demonstrating acrobatic skills that earned him the nickname "Flex." Tried stand-up comedy in several Manhattan clubs before relocating to Los Angeles in 1995 to focus on acting. Made his TV-acting debut in the short-lived Fox series Where I Live. Was nominated for NAACP Image Awards for his acting on the sitcom One on One and in 2004's Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story.

Trivia: From his earliest days, Michael Badalucco could feel the beacon of show business drawing him ever closer to a career as an actor. There was just something about him that drew people's attention, and his love for film, combined with his natural knack for entertaining friends and family, helped the painfully shy youngster overcome his aversion to the spotlight and develop his talent with the full blessing of his mother and father. Badalucco is a Flatbush native whose Sicilian father worked as a movie set carpenter when he was growing up; his parents instilled in him a strong devotion to family and religion that would serve as a guiding light through his life and career. Badalucco was in the third grade when his father was working on the Sidney Lumet thriller Fail-Safe, and when the script called for a young boy, the elder Badalucco offered the services of his son without hesitation. Though his screen debut as an ill-fated Russian general's son was a non-speaking role that required little more than standing still for a few photographs, the aspiring young actor was already on the path to a successful acting career. In the following years, Badalucco earned his bachelor's degree in theater arts from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and it was there that he cut his teeth on-stage and made the acquaintance of another up-and-coming talent named John Turturro. During his years at S.U.N.Y. New Paltz, Badalucco essayed roles in over 20 plays. When their appearances in the off-Broadway production of Sam Shepard's Tooth of Crime caught the attention of actor Robert De Niro, both Badalucco and Turturro were called into director Martin Scorsese's office to audition for supporting roles in Raging Bull. Not only did the experience provide young Badalucco with the chance to appear onscreen with one of his cinematic idols, but it also set into motion a career that would find him turning up in such acclaimed films as Miller's Crossing (1990), Jungle Fever (1991), and The Professional (1994). Throughout the 1990s, Badalucco rose steadily through the ranks with a series of memorable supporting roles. His performance in the romantic comedy One Fine Day (1996) prompted star Michelle Pfeiffer to recommend Badalucco to husband David E. Kelley for a role in Kelley's weekly law drama The Practice. Not only did Badalucco get the part, but his performance as Jimmy Berluti would ultimately serve as his breakout role. After re-teaming with Jungle Fever director Spike Lee to essay the role of disturbed serial killer David Berkowitz in 1999's Summer of Sam, Badalucco stepped into the shoes of notorious gangster George "Baby Face" Nelson for the throwback Coen brothers comedy O Brother, Where Art Thou? the following year. His role in the Coens' subsequent film, The Man Who Wasn't There, found Badalucco threatening to become a Coen regular, and after appearing opposite Steve Buscemi in 13 Moons, the Practice star joined old friend Turturro in the comedy drama 2 B Perfectly Honest.

Trivia: While in college, performed in stage productions alongside Samuel L. Jackson, who later became her husband. Played the role of the Lady in Red in Alliance Theatre Company's national tour of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf from 1977 to 1978. In 1987, played Ida B. Wells in New Federal Theater's production of Boogie Woogie and Booker T. Served on the Spelman College Board of Trustees from 1999 to 2006. In 2005, received the Frederick D. Patterson Award from the United Negro College Fund along with her husband, Samuel L. Jackson. Received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Spelman College in 2012.

Trivia: Comedic actor Donald Faison began his acting career with bit parts in gritty urban dramas like Juice and Sugar Hill before breaking through with a supporting role in the hit 1995 comedy Clueless. A year later, he was one of the few cast members to make the leap to the film's TV spin-off and stuck with the show throughout its three-year run. After Clueless bowed, Faison wasted little time before joining the cast of the popular drama Felicity. But it was in 2001 that he would land his most noteworthy role, that of surgeon Dr. Christopher Turk on the hit NBC medical-sitcom Scrubs. When Scrubs ended in 2010, Faison immediately jumped to another show, the TV Land sitcom The Exes.

Trivia: One of the founding fathers of gangsta rap, the G-funk style, Death Row Records, and Aftermath, Dr. Dre has been bringing innovation and slick production to the world of rap since the early days of N.W.A. in the late '80s. As with many restless souls in the music industry, it was only a matter of time before Dre decided to expand his role in the entertainment industry to feature films. Born Andre Young in February of 1965, Dre's early work in the film industry involved orchestrating the soundtracks for such films as Above the Rim and Murder Was the Case in 1994. Taking the director's chair for 1993's Hour of Chaos and Murder Was the Case the following year, Dre also turned up in front of the camera for Set It Off (1996), Whiteboyz (1999), and Training Day (2001). Despite his reputation for being so "hard," Dre's first major film role would come surprisingly in the comedy The Wash (2001) alongside longtime friend and fellow G-Funk cohort Snoop Doggy Dogg. With former collaborator Ice Cube having already taken his act to the screen for laughs in 1995's Friday, it appeared as if the ever-serious former N.W.A. killaz had finally lightened up a bit and taken on a more easygoing celluloid existence as opposed to their more dangerous vinyl incarnation.

Trivia: A self-styled renaissance man, Fab 5 Freddy arguably qualifies as one of the most colorful figures in rap music history and certainly one of the most diverse, juggling successful stints as not merely a rapper, but a Hollywood scriptwriter, thespian, graffiti artist, painter (with his work displayed in prestigious galleries) and MTV host. Through it all, Freddy exhibited an infectious zeal and enthusiasm that lifted him above the pack.Born Fred Braithwaite in 1959, in the tough-as-nails Bed Stuy section of New York, Freddy began his career as a graffiti artist, with the imprimaturs "Fred Fab 5" and "Bull 99." The work quickly netted such popularity that it gained iconic stature in Manhattan and seemed to predestine Freddy for a successful and lucrative career as a painter. Following suit, he graduated from high school in the late '70s and enrolled at Medgar Evans College as an art major, turning to the pop art of Andy Warhol as a stylistic inspiration and touchstone. That marked a prescient move: within the next few years, Freddy found his way into the exclusive avant-garde of early-'80s New York, alongside Warhol, Deborah Harry, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and others, even turning up in Edo Bertoglio's long-lost feature film about that community, Downtown 81. Freddy broke into these cliques courtesy of his friendship with music journalist Glenn O'Brien (frequently appearing on O'Brien's local access talk show and operating camera on it). As time rolled on, however, Freddy became increasingly interested in various then-nascent aspects of black culture, such as rap, breakdancing, and hip-hop. That led him to star in the 1983 film Wild Style and produce the soundtrack, as well. By the late '80s, Freddy began producing rap videos for artists including Queen Latifah, KRS-One, and Shabba Ranks, and accepted the gifted young MTV producer Ted Demme's invitation to host Yo! MTV Raps, an assignment that established his image as one of the godfathers of the hip-hop scene (as did his publication of a dictionary of hip-hop slang). Freddy subsequently moved into features as a producer (New Jack City, 1991), occasional actor, and documentary contributor. Projects in which he participated include Juice (1992), Who's the Man? (1993), Just For Kicks (2005), and The Universe of Keith Haring (2007).