Trivia: As the dignified and relentlessly photogenic object of Angela Bassett's affections in How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Taye Diggs made an immediate and unforgettable impression on legions of filmgoers. Diggs came to film by way of the theater. Born in 1971 in New Jersey, he was raised as the oldest of five children in Rochester, NY. After earning a B.F.A. in musical theater from Syracuse University, he made his way to Broadway, debuting in the Tony-winning production of Carousel. In 1996, Diggs got his big break, originating the role of the nasty landlord, Benny, in Jonathan Larson's Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Rent. He then moved from stage to television, with a role on Guiding Light, and in 1998 he made his film debut in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. The excitement surrounding Diggs' performance netted him both media exposure and more work, and the following year he could be seen in no less than four films. First up was his turn as a tantric sex god in Doug Liman's Go; audiences could next see him as an AWOL groom in the coming-of-age drama The Wood; Malcolm D. Lee's The Best Man featured Diggs as another member of the wedding, this time as the titular best man suffering from his own pre-wedding jitters; finally, he starred as a guest at Geoffrey Rush's allegedly haunted mansion in the remake of William Castle's The House on Haunted Hill.In 2001, Diggs returned to the small-screen with a recurring role on Fox's Ally McBeal. And when subsequent film roles in such unsuccessful projects as Equilibrium, Basic, and Malibu's Most Wanted did his career no good, he decided to try on a full-time television gig with Kevin Hill. Premiering in 2004 on UPN, the primetime drama starred Diggs in the title role, a fast-living bachelor who finds his life turned upside down with the unexpected introduction of an infant. In 2006, after a stint as the title character's gay boyfriend on the final season of Will & Grace, Diggs gave TV stardom another shot as a cop trapped in a time loop in the high-concept, 24-esque Day Break, but the show was yanked after a handful of episodes. His TV career was finally resuscitated by the Grey's Anatomy spin-off Private Practice, in which he was cast in the role of Sam Bennett, an internist trying to survive the medical and romantic entanglements at the Oceanside Wellness Center. Later, the actor would play the role of Vargas in the live adaptation of the comic Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, and narrate The Fab Five, a documentary following five famous basketball players from the University of Michigan. In 2013, he reprised his role of Harper Stewart in The Best Man sequel, The Best Man Holiday. Diggs returned to television the next year, starring in Steven Bochco's Murder in the First, and booking a recurring role on The Good Wife.

Trivia: A charismatic actress who possesses equal parts beauty and talent, Nia Long became a fixture of many African-American ensemble films of the late 1990s. Born in Brooklyn, New York, on October 30, 1970, Long developed an interest in acting at an early age. She received training from Betty Bridges, mother of former child star Todd Bridges (best known for his role on the TV series Diff'rent Strokes. Long got her start on TV, playing a character on the soap opera Guiding Light from 1991 to 1993. She earned her first helping of fame with her role on the popular sitcom Fresh Prince of Bel Air, which cast her as Will Smith's love interest. The actress made her film debut in John Singleton's acclaimed Boyz 'N the Hood (1991), sharing the screen with the likes of Cuba Gooding, Jr., Ice Cube, Angela Basset, and Lawrence Fishburne. She followed the film with Made in America (1993), a comedy that cast her as the daughter of Whoopi Goldberg and Ted Danson. Long subsequently established herself as a strong presence in romantic dramas and comedies, carving out a niche in such films as Soul Food (1997), Love Jones (1997), and The Best Man (1999). The actress also ventured into a number of other genres, as demonstrated by her roles in films ranging from supernatural horror (Stigmata) (1999) to big business crime drama (The Boiler Room) (1999) to inner-city police thriller (In Too Deep) (1999).As the new century got under way she had major roles in Big Momma's House and Boiler Room, as well as BAADASSSSS! On the small screen she joined the cast of the NBC drama Third Watch. In 2005 she was in the hit Are We There Yet?, and she followed that up with the sequel Are We Done Yet. Long also made time for the sequel Big Momma's House 2. In 2010 she appeared in the drama Mooz-lum. She reprised her role from The Best Man in the 2013 sequel The Best Man Holiday and later starred in The Single Moms Club.

Trivia: Morris Chestnut's career makes a case for the argument that for the bulk of the '90s, there simply were not enough good roles for talented African-American actors. After making an impressive debut as Ricky in John Singleton's Boyz 'N the Hood, Chestnut spent several years wallowing in television, appearing in made-for-TV movies and doomed series. Chestnut, born in Cerrios, CA, on New Years Day 1969, majored in drama and finance at California State University. Little is known about his personal life. Chestnut admitted in a 2001 interview with Essence.com that he doesn't enjoy giving interviews or discussing his private life, but then let it slip that he is married.Chestnut's first professional acting role was in Boyz 'N the Hood in 1991. He followed that up with roles in various TV movies, as well as a part on Patti LaBelle's short-lived sitcom Out All Night. Chestnut continued to steadily, but he often had only bit parts in throwaway, big-budget films, like 1995's Under Siege 2 or 1997's G.I. Jane. But as the decade ended, movies about young, professional African-Americans and their problems with family and relationships began to fill the cineplexes, creating roles for Chestnut and all the other talented black actors stuck in minor TV and film roles. In 1999, Chestnut starred in The Best Man with Taye Diggs and Nia Long, playing a professional athlete who doesn't know that his soon-to-be wife dallied with his best man -- who is about to release those details in his first novel, a Roman à clef about their time in college. The Best Man earned pretty good reviews, did well at the box office, and even earned Chestnut a NAACP Image Award nomination for his performance. He followed it up with The Brothers, another film centering on the themes of fidelity and success among urban professionals. Chestnut joined Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for a supporting role in The Game Plan (2007), a family-oriented sports comedy, and became known for his portrayal of Ryan Nicholas on V, a sci-fi television drama from ABC.

Trivia: An actress who has been noted equally for her talent and beauty, Sanaa Lathan first caught the attention of critics and audiences alike in a series of witty, thought-provoking late-'90s films about the lives of young African-Americans. Featured prominently in such ensemble pieces as The Best Man and The Wood (both 1999), Lathan won her first starring role in Gina Prince-Bythewood's widely acclaimed Love & Basketball (2000), playing a talented basketball player who finds her professional dreams complicated by her relationship with her boyfriend and her own expectations of herself. Lathan's work in the film, along with her performance that same year in Prince-Bythewood's HBO movie Disappearing Acts, announced the actress as a charismatic new talent to watch. Born on October 19, 1971, Lathan -- whose first name is Swahili for "work of art" -- was the second oldest of five children born to Broadway actress and dancer Eleanor McCoy and director/producer Stan Lathan. Surrounded by show business since day one, Lathan began training in dance and gymnastics at an early age. Following her parents' divorce, she grew up shuttling between her mother's home in New York and Los Angeles, where her father lived. During her undergraduate education at UC Berkeley, where she studied English and toyed with the idea of becoming a lawyer, Lathan became involved with the Black Theater Workshop. Thanks in part to her stage experiences with the Workshop, she was encouraged to try out for the Yale School of Drama, where she was ultimately accepted.Following her training at Yale, where she performed in a number of Shakespeare's plays, Lathan earned acclaim both off-Broadway and on the Los Angeles stage. Encouraged by her father to make L.A. her professional base, the young actress found early TV work on episodes of such shows as Family Matters, NYPD Blue, and Moesha. During that same period, she won raves and a Best Actress nod from the Los Angeles NAACP Theatrical Award Committee for her performance in To Take Arms.In 1998, Lathan earned a degree of big-screen recognition with her role as the mother of Wesley Snipes' title character in Blade. She followed this the subsequent year with back-to-back turns in The Best Man and The Wood. The former was a comedic ensemble piece starring Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Harold Perrineau Jr., and Monica Calhoun, and featured Lathan as Diggs' girlfriend; while the latter, another ensemble piece starring Diggs, Omar Epps, and Richard T. Jones, cast her as the love interest of Epps, who also happened to be her real-life boyfriend. In 1999, Lathan played yet another girlfriend, this time Eddie Murphy's, in Ted Demme's comedy Life. Lathan and Epps were reunited onscreen in Prince-Bythewood's Love & Basketball, this time playing a couple as passionate about basketball as they are about each other. The widely lauded film served as a break-out role for Lathan, who was finally able to play a leading character instead of the girlfriend of one. Her work in Love & Basketball earned her Best Actress nominations for both the N.A.A.C.P. Image Award and the Independent Spirit Award. That same year, Lathan earned additional acclaim for her work in the multicultural comedy Catfish in Black Bean Sauce and for her second collaboration with Prince-Bythewood, Disappearing Acts. Based on a novel by Terry McMillan, the HBO movie cast Lathan as an aspiring singer/songwriter in love with a carpenter, played by her Blade co-star Wesley Snipes. For her work in the film Lathan earned an Essence Award for Best Actress, as well as the added assurance of a very busy work schedule.

Trivia: Though Terrence Howard's great grandmother Minnie Gentry was a successful New York stage actress, Howard didn't venture onto the screen himself until the age of twenty. Raised in a multiracial Jehovah's Witness household, the young man studied chemical engineering at Pratt Institute before being discovered on the street in New York. This quickly led to appearances on such television shows as Coach, Street Legal, Living Single, and Picket Fences. His breakout role in 1995's Mr. Holland's Opus helped pave the way for Howard's film career, as did his critically acclaimed performance as Cowboy in the Hughes brothers film Dead Presidents. By the time he took the role of Quentin in 1999's The Best Man, Howard had established a reputation as an actor of both skill and integrity. The new millennium finally brought Howard work that showcased his talent and made him a well-known name, like his role in the Paul Haggis film Crash, as well as his work in the John Singleton's Four Brothers. He also attracted the spotlight on the small screen with parts in the acclaimed TV films Their Eyes Were Watching God with Halle Berry, and Lackawanna Blues with S. Epatha Merkerson. This set the stage for his career-making performance as a pimp desperate to create a new life for himself as a musician in Hustle & Flow, for which he earned an Oscar nomination. Over the coming years, Howard would remain a vital force on screen, appearing in several films, likeGet Rich or Die Tryin', Idlewild, Iron Man, and On the Road. In 2013, he played a supporting role in Lee Daniel's The Butler and reprised his role in The Best Man Holiday. Howard returned to television in Fox's smash-hit Empire, playing music mogul Lucious Lyon.

Trivia: Originally, actress Victoria Dillard trained to be a classical ballet dancer from the age of five. She danced professionally with the Dance Theatre of Harlem and at the Metropolitan Opera until an injury incurred during a performance abruptly ended her career. Still, Dillard wanted to perform and took up acting instead. She landed her first acting turn in a touring production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opposite Mickey Rooney. She moved to Los Angeles after the tour's end and won a small guest-starring role on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Dillard's subsequent television credits include a regular role on the new Laugh-In and guest-starring gigs on such shows as L.A. Law, Roc, and Martin. She made her feature film debut playing a bather and a dancer in the Eddie Murphy vehicle Coming to America (1988). She played much larger supporting roles in the films Ricochet (1991) and Deep Cover (1992). She is a regular on the ABC sitcom Spin City. In 1997, Dillard co-starred in a Family Channel original movie, The Ditchdigger's Daughter.

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: Writer-director Malcolm D. Lee may have been inspired to become a filmmaker by his cousin Spike Lee, but the younger Lee aimed directly at mainstream success with his genial ensemble comedy The Best Man (1999). Raised in Brooklyn, Lee never imagined he had a shot at a movie career until he saw his older cousin Spike's ultra-low-budget debut She's Gotta Have It (1986) become a breakthrough hit. Beginning with a production assistant job on School Daze (1988) when he was a high school senior, Lee got an on-set tutorial in filmmaking with his cousin that also included work on Malcolm X (1992) and Clockers (1995). After he graduated from Georgetown University as an English major, Lee won a one-year screenwriting fellowship from Disney before he headed back to New York and N.Y.U. to get a graduate degree in film. Drawing on his own experience in a predominantly white private high school, Lee gained a toehold in Hollywood with his short film Morningside Prep, about African-American teens caught between "black" and "white" culture. Lee didn't make the transition to full-length features, however, until he wrote his sixth screenplay, The Best Man. Though it was produced by Spike's company 40 Acres and a Mule, The Best Man stayed true to Lee's desire to make a comedy more akin to the less politicized pleasures of Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and The Big Chill (1983) than his cousin's overtly provocative fare. Centering on a group of what Lee called "middle-class characters who happen to be black" gathered for a friend's marriage to a woman who'd once had an affair with Taye Diggs' title character, The Best Man was as funny, romantic, and lighthearted as its forebears. Lee truly arrived in Hollywood when The Best Man debuted at number one and went on to be a modest crossover hit. Serving as a director only on his next film, Lee went for broader, racially edged comedy with the adaptation of John Ridley's web comic/blaxploitation spoof Undercover Brother (2002). Amid the featherweight slapstick antics, Lee and his colleagues managed to get in a few zingers about race relations and stereotypes, particularly with Dave Chappelle's paranoid Conspiracy Brother and Eddie Griffin's hilarious transformation from the eponymous Afro-ed agent to the mayonnaise-loving white-black Anton Jackson. Released amidst the summer blockbuster bombast, Undercover Brother held its own at the box office to become a small hit.

Trivia: An accomplished young actor who has graced the stage, screen, and television, Harold Perrineau Jr. has earned a well-deserved reputation as a performer willing to take on just about anything, with roles ranging from drag queens to hardened criminals. A native of Brooklyn, Perrineau studied music and theatre at the Shenandoah Conservatory, but began his career as a dancer with the Alvin Ailey Company, performing with the troupe for a year and a half. A gradual shift to acting led Perrineau to the theatre, where he acted in a number of shows including Dreamgirls, the critically acclaimed Avenue X, and the off-Broadway revival of Godspell.While he was working on the stage, Perrineau also began appearing on TV in such shows as The Cosby Show, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, I'll Fly Away, and Law & Order. He segued onto the big screen in the late '80s, but had his first memorable role as Rashid Cole, a young man searching for his long-absent father (Forest Whitaker) in Smoke, an acclaimed 1995 drama directed by Wayne Wang and based upon the writings of Paul Auster. The following year he gained further exposure for his flamboyant, explosive portrayal of Mercutio in Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. At one point outfitted in a glitter miniskirt and platform heels, Perrineau proved a worthy, if idiosyncratic, foil for Leonardo Di Caprio's Romeo and gave a performance that marked him as one of the more distinctive Mercutios in the play's history.Perrineau subsequently appeared in a number of supporting roles in films ranging from Auster's Lulu on the Bridge (1998) to The Best Man (1999), a celebrated romantic comedy directed by Malcolm D. Lee (cousin of Spike Lee) that saw Perrineau share the screen with other members of a group widely billed as a new generation of African-American actors, including Taye Diggs, Morris Chestnut, and Nia Long. In addition to appearances in various independent films, Perrineau starred in Woman on Top (2000), a comedy that cast him as the drag queen best friend of a young woman (Penelope Cruz) experiencing romantic woes.In 1997, Perrineau made the move to the small screen, assuming the role of paraplegic convict and narrator Augustus Hill on the acclaimed HBO series Oz. The brutally violent, hard-hitting series generated Perrineau thousands of fans, and he stayed with the show until 2003 - the same year he took up the role of Link in The Matrix Reloaded, the second film in the explosive Matrix franchise. He would reprise the role the next year for the third and final installment in the series, The Matrix Revolutions, before returning to television just months later for the role of Michael on the cryptic ABC sci-fi/mystery/drama Lost. Playing a conflicted and sometimes morally ambiguous character, Perrineau soon proved to be a vital member of the cast, taking a hiatus from the series in 2007 only to return in 2008.Despite becoming a pivotal component of primetime TV, the actor remained as active in movies as ever. He took on the role of Flynn in the 2007 horror sequel 28 Weeks Later, and starred alongside Michael Madsen in the 2008 thriller The Killing Jar. After Lost ended in 2010, Perrineau continued to alternate between TV and film, playing the villain in season 5 of Sons of Anarchy and a decidedly lighter role as the bass player in a wedding band in the short-lived TBS comedy Wedding Band. He also played a supporting role in the controversial Oscar-nominated film Zero Dark Thirty (2012).