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: Became interested in acting at the age of 5 after his sister booked a lead role in a TV commercial. First acting job was in an Oscar Meyer commercial. Moved to Los Angeles with his family in 2003 in hopes of furthering his acting career. Graduated high school at the age of 15 as class salutatorian. Member of the Alpha Gamma Sigma honor society. Studied culinary arts in college. Appeared in small roles in Without a Trace in 2005 and Hannah Montana in 2007.

Trivia: Staking claim on her fame with her role in the comedy-horror spoof Scary Movie, Regina Hall has frequented the big screen in roles that far from betrayed her age. Born in 1971 in Washington, D.C., Hall earned a degree in journalism from N.Y.U. before embarking on a film career. In 1997, she began appearing in commercials at age 26, and then made the giant leap into movies. Her recurring role in Scary Movie and the sequel Scary Movie 2 exhibited the 30-year-old's ability to maintain her youthful appearance, as she portrayed the high-school-aged Brenda Meeks. Hall's first film role had come in 1999 with a small role in Malcolm D. Lee's drama The Best Man. The following year, she made several film appearances, including her starring role in Scary Movie. In addition, she played small parts in two films directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, the drama Love and Basketball, and the TV movie Disappearing Acts, featuring Sanaa Lathan and Wesley Snipes. In 2001, Hall's list of credits grew to include her first television role, as Corretta Lipp on the prime-time drama Ally McBeal, which was a recurring role for several episodes. Also that year, Scary Movie 2 was released, in addition to the Mandel Holland comedy The Other Brother, featuring Hall as Vicki. One year later, she starred in the action-drama Paid in Full, directed by Charles Stone III. She reprised her role as Brenda Meeks yet again for Scary Movie 3 (2003) and Scary Movie 4 (2006), and played a supporting role in the 2009 crime thriller Law Abiding Citizen. The following year she had some success for her supporting role in Neil LaBute's remake of Frank Oz's black comedy Death at a Funeral, in which she co-starred with Danny Glover, Peter Dinklage, and Martin Lawrence, among others. She co-starred with Kevin Hart and Michael Ealy in Think Like a Man (2012), which was adapted from Steve Harvey's non-fiction self-improvement book Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man.

Trivia: Began performing in stage productions with Phoenix Theatre at the age of 10. Moved from Phoenix to Los Angeles at the age of 17 to start a music career before deciding to pursue acting professionally. Is a singer-songwriter who released an original song titled "Surrender" in 2015. Was named in Vogue's list of Girls to Watch in 2016.

Trivia: As a child, lived in Ireland for five years with his family. Made his TV debut on a 2007 episode of 30 Rock. Best-known for playing Luke Cafferty on Friday Night Lights from 2009 to the series finale in 2011. Was cast in the role of Caleb Evers on FOX's 2011 drama The Chicago Code. Plays electric guitar and specializes in blues-rock.

Trivia: Actor Titus Welliver sailed to fame as a character player, largely via television roles. Though Welliver exhibited such an individualistic presence (and appearance) that his identity became inextricable from the casts of the programs in which he played, he also evinced such versatility with characterizations that series creators (and feature producers) were able to successfully cast him as a broad spectrum of occupational types, from cops to physicians to military sergeants. Regular roles included Officer Jack Lowery on Steven Bochco's short-lived police drama Brooklyn South and Silas Adams on the revisionist Western show Deadwood; he also had a recurring role as physician Dr. Mondzac on the seminal cop series NYPD Blue. Welliver's cinematic resumé includes parts in such features as The Doors (1991), Mulholland Falls (1996), Assault on Precinct 13 (2005), and Gone Baby Gone (2007). Welliver continued to work heavily in television, booking guest appearances on shows like NCIS, Prison Break and Supernatural, before joining Lost in a pivotal final-season role as The Man in Black. His profile justifiably raised, Welliver booked recurring gigs on Sons of Anarchy and The Good Wife. After working with director Ben Affleck in Gone Baby Gone, Welliver appeared in his next two films, The Town (2010) and the Academy Award-winning Argo (2012).

Trivia: Artistic partner of fellow rapper/actor Redman, Method Man was also an original member of the hip-hop group the Wu-Tang Clan before his solo rap career began. He made two solo albums, the first of which contained the original version of the Grammy award-winning single "I'll Be There for You/You're All I Need to Get By," featuring Mary J. Blige, as well as numerous collaborations with the likes of Redman, Notorious B.I.G. Method Man has subsequently continued to accumulate a broad range of credits.Featured in Brian Robbins' documentary The Show (1995), preceded by appearances in his own music videos, Method Man officially became an actor in the late 1990s when he appeared in The Great White Hype, Copland, and Belly. He also played a small role in Kevin Reynolds' 187 (1997) and made a guest appearance on an episode of the pseudo-animated series Space Ghost Coast to Coast in 1996.Method Man has made many cameo appearances as himself, in roles ranging from walk-on to starring, in all genres including the film Black and White (1999), the video Backstage: Hard Knock Life, and as the host of the television series Stung in 2002. The HBO dramatic prison series Oz featured Method Man in a 2001 season episode. His acting credits continued with the feature films How High with Redman and Obba Babatunde, and Brown Sugar with Queen Latifah in 2002.Additionally, his background as a rapper aided Method Man's involvement in the film industry, as he is accredited on several soundtracks from the 1990s and 2000s. Soundtrack credits include the major motion pictures Batman Forever, Space Jam, Gone in Sixty Seconds, Rush Hour 2, and All About the Benjamins.He continued to work steadily in a variety of projects including Scary Movie 3, Garden State, Soul Plane, The Wackness, The Sitter, and Red Tails as well as contributing to a number of music documentaries.

Trivia: Blaxploitation superstar Richard Roundtree earned screen immortality during the 1970s as the legendary Shaft, "the black private dick that's the sex machine to all the chicks." Born July 9, 1942, in New Rochelle, NY, Roundtree attended college on a football scholarship but later gave up athletics to pursue an acting career. After touring as a model with the Ebony Fashion Fair, he joined the Negro Ensemble Company's acting workshop program in 1967. He made his film debut in 1970's What Do You Say to a Naked Lady?, but was still an unknown when filmmaker Gordon Parks Sr. cast him as Shaft. The role shot Roundtree to instant fame, launching the blaxploitation genre and proving so successful at the box office that it helped save MGM from the brink of bankruptcy. Thanks to the film's popularity -- as well as its two sequels, 1972's Shaft's Big Score! and the following year's Shaft in Africa, and even a short-lived television series -- Roundtree became an icon of '70s-era cool, and his image graced countless magazine covers. Outside of the Shaft franchise, he also appeared in films including the 1974 disaster epic Earthquake, 1975's Man Friday, and the blockbuster 1977 TV miniseries Roots. By the end of the decade, however, the blaxploitation movement was a thing of the past, and Roundtree's stardom waned; apart from the 1981 big-budget flop Inchon, he spent the 1980s appearing almost exclusively in TV roles or low-rent, direct-to-video features. Still, he continued working steadily, and in 1995 appeared in David Fincher's smash thriller Seven. The following year he co-starred in the acclaimed Once Upon a Time...When We Were Colored, and also teamed with fellow blaxploitation vets Pam Grier and Fred "the Hammer" Williamson in Original Gangstas. In 1997, Roundtree returned to series television in 413 Hope St.

Trivia: Got into acting at age 10 when he landed the lead in his school play, Harry Potter. As a child, thought he'd like to be a character in a video game. Enjoys dressing up as twins with his Victorious costar Victoria Justice and strolling around Hollywood. Serves as an ambassador for the Peace First Organization and is co-founder of the Straight But Not Narrow, which promotes acceptance of homosexuality. Produced, wrote and directed the short films Alex and Compound. Plays guitar and piano. Has a tattoo of the Hunter S. Thompson quote, "Buy the ticket, take the ride."

Trivia: His father was his basketball coach in high school. Attended UC Berkeley on a basketball scholarship after joining the team as a walk-on. Had a recurring role on One Tree Hill as basketball player Quentin Fields.

Trivia: Began taking piano, dance and vocal lessons at W.O. Smith Music School as a young child growing up in Nashville. After moving to Atlanta during middle school, began performing in local stage productions with the Alliance Theatre and Horizon Theatre Company. Earned a bachelor's degree in psychology and worked in marketing before deciding to move to New York City to pursue a master's degree in acting at the New School. Made her New York stage debut in The 24 Hour Plays at Lucille Lortel Theatre. Nominated for an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her breakout role as Black Cindy in Orange Is the New Black in 2014. Starred in a short film titled #HowWeDoIt for the Make it Work campaign, an initiative that aims to alleviate the daily hardships of working class families. Performed in a Shakespeare in the Park production of The Taming of the Shrew at the Delacorte Theater. Is a mentor to young artists and supports the 52nd Street Project and Naked Angels, initiatives that support performing arts.

Trivia: Studied to be a dancer at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, but turned to acting after sustaining a knee injury. Appeared on Broadway in Into the Woods and Dreamgirls. Got her big break in 1994 with a role in the film I Like It Like That, opposite Rita Moreno. First series starring role came with Fox's police drama New York Undercover, on which she portrayed Det. Nina Moreno. Won an ALMA Award in 2001 for HBO's Oz, and was later nominated for Showtime's Dexter.