Trivia: From the opening moments of Menace II Society (1993) in which he commits a shocking double homicide, talented young actor Larenz Tate engrained himself into the public psyche as the virtual epitome of the random and senseless violence of the inner-city streets. And while subsequent roles in such similar projects such as Dead Presidents (1995) may have pigeonholed actors of lesser talent, versatile Tate has transcended his troubled ghetto-dwelling film persona to become an actor of impressive dramatic and comedic range. Born on the west side of Chicago in September 1975, Tate was the youngest of three siblings whose family moved to California when he was nine years old. Convinced by their parents to enter a drama program at the Inner City Cultural Center, the trio didn't take the lessons seriously until classmate Malcolm-Jamal Warner's ascent to fame after being cast on the hugely popular sitcom The Cosby Show. Subsequently realizing that they could parlay their efforts into a tangible form of success, the siblings began to receive small roles and in 1985 Tate made his small-screen debut in an episode of The Twilight Zone -- The Series. Following appearances in such popular television series as 21 Jump Street and The Wonder Years, Tate was cast in the made-for-television feature The Women of Brewster Place before receiving a recurring role in the popular family comedy series Family Matters (both 1989). Offers soon began pouring in and, following numerous small-screen roles, collaborative filmmaking siblings Albert and Allen Hughes approached Tate to star in their debut feature Menace II Society. A jarring vision of inner-city desperation and decay, the film found Tate channeling his substantial energy into creating a truly memorable character that audiences would not soon forget. Following up his breakthrough role with the little-seen but often-praised television series South Central, Tate would later appear in the family comedy-drama The Inkwell before re-teaming with the Hughes brothers for Dead Presidents (1995) and taking on the role of a love-stricken young poet in the romantic drama Love Jones (1997). With subsequent roles in such films as The Postman (as the automotively monikered Ford Lincoln Mercury), Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), and 2000's Love Come Down, Tate continued to compel audiences well into the new millennium. Though a big theatrical release had eluded Tate for the first few years of the millennial turnover, the talented young actor would soon turn up opposite Laurence Fisburne in the high-octane Biker Boyz (2003). The thrills kept coming with a role in the action-packed Vin Diesel misfire A Man Apart, with a subsequent role in the Oscar underdog Crash affording Tate the ability to riff on the persona he had so successfully perfected in Menace II Society. Later that same year, Tate would play Quincy Jones to Jamie Foxx's Ray Cherles in director Taylor Hackford's critically-acclaimed biopic Ray. Upon taking back to the streets in director Vondie Curtis Hall's tense 2006 action entry Waist Deep, it was time to try to mediate a peaceful solution to a potentially-explosive situation when the cousin of Tate's character realizes that his car has been stolen with his son still inside. He joined the cast of the hit FX TV series Rescue Me in that shows fourth season, and stayed with the program until its conclusion in 2011.

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: A respected actor who became one of the more prominent figures in the growing African American cinema of the 1990s, Isaiah Washington has made his name in gritty crime dramas and romantic ensemble comedies alike. A native of Houston, Texas, Washington spent four years in the Air Force before studying drama at Washington, D.C.'s Howard University. Following graduation, he won a role in playwright Ntozake Shange's Spell 7 and then moved to New York to further pursue his career. He appeared in a number of stage productions, and he became one of the founding members of CityKids Repertory, a theatre group that visits high schools and community centers throughout New York.Washington began his screen career on television, appearing in the soap operas As the World Turns and One Life to Live. He made his big screen debut in Spike Lee's Crooklyn (1994), and he subsequently appeared in Lee's Clockers (1995), Girl 6 (1996), and Get on the Bus (1996), the last of which cast him as a gay man on his way to the 1995 Million Man March in Washington, D.C.Some of Washington's other memorable credits during the '90s included the Hughes brothers' Dead Presidents (1995), the warmly received ensemble romantic comedy Love Jones (1997), Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight (1998), in which Washington gave a memorable turn as a scheming con's violent brother-in-law; Warren Beatty's Bulworth (1998), and Clint Eastwood's True Crime (1999), which cast Washington as a man awaiting execution on death row after being falsely accused of murder. In 2000, Washington could be seen starring opposite Chinese action star Jet Li in Romeo Must Die, an urban update of Romeo and Juliet set between rival Asian and African American gangs in Oakland, California.In 2005, Washington was cast as Dr. Preston Burke, one of the leads on the ABC medical-drama Grey's Anatomy. The show quickly became a runaway hit, garnering a large and loyal audience as well as Emmys and Golden Globes. However, through the show, Washington would soon gain a great deal of unwanted notoriety. In late 2006, a controversy exploded after an onset altercation between Washington and costar Patrick Dempsey, wherein the former allegedly used an anti-gay epithet to describe castmate T.R. Knight. Months of media coverage followed, and in June 2007, ABC announced that Washington was being cut from the show.Despite the controversy, it wasn't long before Washington was fielding offers from other networks. In July 2007, NBC announced that they'd nabbed him for an extended arc on the remake of The Bionic Woman.

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: Heroes star Leonard Roberts was certainly no stranger to television before being cast on NBC's hit fantasy series. A prolific small-screen presence since the mid-'90s, Roberts had already essayed recurring roles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Providence, and Smallville by the time he joined the cast of Heroes as fugitive D.L. Hawkins, who never settled in one place for too long while attempting to elude authorities. In addition to his series work, Roberts has also appeared in such features as Love Jones, Hoodlum, Drumline, and Joe and Max -- the latter of which found the actor cast in the role of legendary heavyweight champion Joe Louis.

Trivia: Born on April 7, 1965, in Newark, NJ, Bill Bellamy's career as a performer began while he was a student at Rutgers University. Bellamy was persuaded to take part in a men's beauty pageant, and needing to do something for the talent competition, he worked up a standup comedy routine. Bellamy quickly discovered he enjoyed making people laugh, and began honing his skills at small comedy clubs around the country. Bellamy's skills as a comic came to the attention of the producer of the TV series Showtime at the Apollo, where he was given a guest spot. Bellamy's appearance was a major success, leading to an appearance on HBO's Def Comedy Jam and his own special on Showtime. Bellamy next enjoyed a five-year run as host of the series MTV Jams, and in 1996, starred in his own short-lived TV series, The Bill Bellamy Show. Bellamy made his feature-film debut in 1993 with a bit part in the hip-hop comedy Who's the Man?, but his big-screen career began in earnest in 1997, with a role in the acclaimed independent romantic comedy Love Jones. That same year, Bellamy scored his first lead in a movie when he starred in Def Jam's How to Be a Player. Since then, Bellamy has won showy roles in well-reviewed feature films such as Any Given Sunday and The Brothers, and has been a regular on the television comedy series Men, Women and Dogs (he's also done voice work on the animated series Cousin Skeeter). When not busy with his screen career, Bellamy continues to perform at comedy clubs, and appear on screen on shows like Cousin Skeeter and in movies like Neverwas.