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: Born in 1984, genial actor Rob Brown instantly bypassed bit parts and supporting roles in features by debuting with a lead in a Hollywood A-lister. In 2000, Brown took his first screen bow as Jamal Wallace, a young African-American basketball player with more than a passing flair for writing who develops a surprising friendship with a crusty, agoraphobic novelist (Sean Connery) in Gus Van Sant's gentle coming-of-age drama Finding Forrester. It marked an auspicious beginning to a promising career, and an unpredictable one. With absolutely no formal acting experience, Brown attended the audition with plans to try out as an extra (allegedly because he simply wanted extra money to pay his cell phone bill) and scored the lead. In the process, the neophyte thespian beat out thousands of young hopefuls and prompted Van Sant to later reflect, "[Brown] handled himself so beautifully that I'm not sure how he did it with no previous acting experience -- not even a lesson. We were all amazed." Brown waited five years to tackle another effort on-camera, and in the interim finished his own tenure at preparatory school in Manhattan. His sophomore outing, the gentle, sports-themed inspirational drama Coach Carter (2005), earned favorable if not unanimously positive reviews, and teamed him up with Samuel L. Jackson. Two additional features, Liz Friedlander's urban dance drama Take the Lead (2006) and Gary Fleder's period sports drama The Express (2008), both recalled Forrester with their similar tales of underdogs who far surpass the expectations thrust onto them thanks to the guidance of a visionary mentor. In 2008, Brown also appeared in Kimberly Peirce's Iraq War drama Stop-Loss in the supporiting role of Isaac "Eyeball" Butler.

Trivia: Began his acting career at age 13. Won a 1998 Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Performance in a Children's Program for his role as Clay Crosby in the drama In His Father's Shoes. Breakthrough starring TV role came as Arnaz Ballard on the series One on One (2001-06). In 2005, he appeared on the silver screen in the basketball drama Coach Carter and the horror film House of Wax. In 2009, he began a recurring role on the TBS series Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns.

Trivia: With a countenance that seemed to express street-smart grit, Hispanic-American actor Rick Gonzalez might have easily fallen into the trap of playing toughs time and again, as did many of his contemporaries. With an exception here and there, Gonzalez defied these expectations in the first several years of his career, racking up small roles in laudably unpredictable projects such as the wonderful Disney sports drama The Rookie (2002), the dance-themed comedy drama Roll Bounce (2005), and the Christopher Guest mockumentary For Your Consideration (as "Chillaxin' Host"). Born in Manhattan, Gonzalez reportedly sought out stardom from a very tender age, and made his cinematic debut in 1999, with a bit part in the movie Mambo Café. A steady stream of supporting turns followed over the next several years, with an average of two or three per year; Gonzalez hit a high point when he played the womanizing Primo in the coming-of-age drama Biker Boyz, starring Larry Fishburne and Luke Wilson. Gonzalez teamed with Steven Spielberg for a supporting role in the helmer's colossal sci-fi opus War of the Worlds (2005), and shifted gears slightly -- to the thriller genre -- for the movies Pulse and Illegal Tender. The latter gave Gonzalez his first major lead; in that film, he played a Latino man fleeing from thugs who murdered his dad.On television, the actor first made viewers take notice when he played a student with a troubled family life on the David E. Kelley series Boston Legal. He went on to make one-episode appearances in such popular shows as ER, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Shield, but it wasn't until 2007's Reaper that he scored a regular small-screen role. On that quirky comedy drama, Gonzalez played slacker Ben, a friend of lead character and supernatural bounty hunter Sam Oliver (Bret Harrison).

Trivia: For athlete/musician-turned-actor Antwon Tanner life is all about goals. From his early days on the south side of Chicago to a flourishing screen career that has included roles in such hits as The Wood, Never Die Alone, and Coach Carter, Tanner cites every successful career step taken as a direct result of well-defined goals and unwavering faith in God. Tanner is good-humored and has a handsome screen presence; his likable persona plays as well on the small screen as the silver screen. He has also become a familiar face to television viewers thanks to prominent supporting roles in such shows as Boston Public and One Tree Hill. With Tanner's substantial role opposite Samuel L. Jackson in the acclaimed 2005 sports drama Coach Carter it appeared as if his career was finally about to break big. Though the streets of Chicago offered little in the way of creative inspiration during Tanner's formative years, the athletically inclined youth made quite a name for himself in the two-guard position during his time at both Corliss and King high schools. After graduating from high school, Tanner eschewed sports in favor of developing his musical talents following a chance meeting with an agent who represented a close friend. It didn't take the aspiring talent long to parlay his musical abilities into an acting career. A role opposite former Cheers star Rhea Pearlman in the 1996 basketball drama Sunset Park served as an ideal introduction to the screen for the former baller with numerous supporting roles in both film and television serving to increase his public profile. In 1997 Tanner received the chance of a lifetime when he received the opportunity to appear on screen opposite personal role model Samuel L. Jackson in the downbeat drama One Eight Seven. A successful run during the millennial changeover found the increasingly in-demand star coming into his own as an actor, and following an appearance in the Takeshi Kitano gangster drama and a turn as a wisecracking thug in Never Die Alone, Tanner could once again be seen opposite Jackson -- basketball in hand -- in 2005's Coach Carter. In 2005, Tanner strapped on his spurs for a role opposite David Carradine in the revisionist Western Brothas in Arms. He went on to appear in Dead Tone, the TV series One Tree Hill, and I Do…I Did.

Trivia: Actor Channing Tatum might be best known to audiences as a shirtless young man baring his muscular physique for the pages of Abercrombie & Fitch catalogs. His career began when he was cast as an extra in the Ricky Martin video for "She Bangs." Up until then, he'd been drifting from one job to another after the promising football career he prepared for in military school floundered when he entered college. Modeling proved to be a natural fit for Tatum, and he cultivated a successful career appearing in print ads and commercials for such companies as Nautica, Gap, Aeropostale, Emporio Armani, American Eagle, and Pepsi. His charisma in front of the camera didn't go unnoticed and he soon parlayed his modeling career into a shot at acting, landing an appearance on CSI: Miami in 2004. He was soon given a substantial role in the sports drama Coach Carter, which dealt with familiar subject matter for the lifelong athlete. He had no trouble being cast in films geared toward twentysomethings, as 2005 and 2006 brought him roles in Havoc, Supercross, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints, She's the Man, and Step Up. Within only a few short years, Tatum had worked with many other up-and-coming actors of his generation, such as Amanda Bynes, Anne Hathaway, Jenna Dewan, and Bijou Phillips. In 2007, Tatum was cast in the leading role in 2007's epic Genghis Khan biopic Mongol: The Early Years of Genghis Khan, directed by legendary Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov, but he was later replaced by Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano amid rumors that Tatum's dominantly caucasian features were ill recieved by producers, who wanted an actor of Asian descent to play the 13th century Mongolian leader. Tatum's career didn't stall as a result of the upset, however, as he was soon working with acclaimed director Kimberly Peirce on the Iraq War drama Stop-Loss. He played Pretty Boy Floyd in Michael Mann's gangster drama Public Enemies in 2009, the same year he had a prominent role in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2010 he appeared in the Nicholas Sparks written romantic drama Dear John. The next year he had a short but memorable part in The Dilemma, but 2012 turned out to be something of a breakout year for the actor when he appeared in a variety of projects. First up was Haywire, Steven Soderbergh's action thriller. While working on that film, the duo cooked up Magic Mike based on stories Channing shared about his days as a male stripper. That film opened in the summer of 2012. Between those two projects, the comedy 21 Jump Street came out, featuring Tatum as an undercover cop working a high school with his best friend and partner played by Jonah Hill. His work paid off when he was named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in late 2012. Tatum continued working at a neck-breaking pace the following year, reprising his role in the G.I. Joe sequel G.I. Joe: Retaliation, starring in psychological thriller Side Effects and action film White House Down and appearing in cameo roles in This Is The End and Don Jon.

Trivia: Widely hailed as one of the greatest urban music discoveries of the new millennium, glamorous R&B recording sensation Ashanti entered the public eye thanks, in large part, to the efforts of record mogul Irv Gotti, the powerhouse also responsible for launching Ja Rule's career. Such albums as Chapter II, Concrete Rose, and The Declaration sold an unholy number of copies in a brief span of time, ensuring superstardom for the ascendant diva. In actuality, however, the young woman -- born Ashanti S. Douglas -- had already established a viable presence in a key number of theatrically released feature films and telemovies long prior to her 2002 debut album. She received her formal training in dance at the Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center, and made one of her earliest television appearances as a dancer, at age nine, in the Phylicia Rashad-headlined musical update of Pollyanna, Polly (1989). Bit parts in feature films ensued, including Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992) and Ted Demme's Who's the Man? (1993). Unsurprisingly, Ashanti's acting career received a boost from musical stardom; she landed small roles in the quasi-Bollywood comedy Bride and Prejudice (2004) and the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer before tackling her first lead, as Dorothy Gale, in the made-for-television special The Muppets' Wizard of Oz (2005). Ashanti then rose to higher billing with plum roles in the teen sex comedy John Tucker Must Die (2006) and the action-filled video-game adaptation Resident Evil: Extinction (2007).

Trivia: If awards were bestowed for versatility, the graceful and congenial African-American actress Debbi Morgan would take first place. A veritable decades-long mainstay in the casts of A-list dramatic features, soap operas, acclaimed prime-time series dramas, big-screen exploitationers, sitcoms, and telemovies, Morgan has proven herself equally adept at each, while the number of roles she tackles each year suggests a die-hard craftswoman with no signs of slowing down. Born September 20, 1956, in Dunn, NC, Morgan moved with her family to New York City at the age of three. Despite the family's residence in a South Bronx housing project, they managed without difficulty. Five years into the move, Morgan's father died, which forced her mother, Lora, to support the two children (Debbi and younger sister Terry) as a secretary; she funded the girls' parochial educations through the end of high school. The photogenic Debbi sought out an entertainment career in her teens -- initially against the wishes of her mother. Lora issued stringent objections, terrified that Debbi -- a high-honors student -- would drift in with a bad element and engage in aberrant behavior. This never occurred; Debbi rapidly launched herself as an actress -- first in a series of commercials, then onto the Broadway stage (in the 1975 play What the Wine Sellers Buy) and in feature films (with a role in, regrettably, the Richard Fleischer-directed debacle Mandingo). After moving to L.A. in her early '20s, Morgan commenced series television work, with guest appearances on such ethnically oriented sitcoms as What's Happening!!, Good Times, and Sanford. Morgan's crowning network achievement arrived at the tail end of the '70s, with her acclaimed portrayal of Elizabeth (Alex Haley's aunt) in the smash miniseries Roots: The Next Generations. After a stint on the CBS series Trapper John, M.D. during the early '80s, Morgan discovered, through her agent, that the producers of the wildly popular daytime soap All My Children needed a young African-American actress to portray the romantic interest of the character Jesse (Darnell Williams). Morgan auditioned for the role and signed instantly, recurring on the series, intermittently, for 14 years. During the early to mid-'80s, Morgan also memorably essayed the part of Ruth Owens, the love interest of track star Jesse Owens (Dorian Harewood), in the critically praised epic telemovie The Jesse Owens Story (1984); in fact, Morgan's plaintive, emotionally charged protests regarding Owens' discriminatory treatment gave the film several of its most memorable scenes and images. Morgan continued her TV work throughout the '80s, '90s, and early 2000s, with guest appearances on a myriad of series programs -- everything from The Cosby Show to Boston Public and Charmed. During the late '90s, however, Morgan broke from the small screen and made two enduring contributions to A-list features. She played Aunt Mozelle in Eve's Bayou, actress-cum-director Kasi Lemmons' acclaimed, finely wrought gothic drama of Southern life, and Mae Thelma Carter, the wife of wrongfully accused and incriminated boxer Rubin Carter (Denzel Washington), in Norman Jewison's Oscar-nominated biopic The Hurricane (1999). More recently, Morgan portrayed Twana in director Michael Schultz's cinematization of T.D. Jakes' play, Woman Thou Art Loosed (2004).

Trivia: Manhattan-born singer and actress Adrienne Bailon had a drastically different future planned out before her career in show business took off. She attended a high school geared toward careers in health and human services, but when her girl group 3LW took off around 2001, the 18-year-old pursued her new profession with full force. The group eventually disbanded, but Bailon was already on to a new project, joining the band/movie/TV franchise the Cheetah Girls with Disney progeny Raven Symone. The group spawned several TV movies and released several albums together before disbanding in 2009. Bailon started to work on her solo career and made the rounds on reality shows for several years before landing a co-hosting gig on The Real in 2013.

Trivia: A frequent small-screen presence during the mid- to late 2000s -- in a variety of blockbuster prime-time programs -- Iowa-born actress Dana Davis built her reputation as a sturdy and reliable guest actor in such series outings as Boston Public, Gilmore Girls, and Veronica Mars. She scored a regular role on fall 2006's much-hyped dramatic series The Nine, playing Felicia Jones, but the show failed to sustain viewers and didn't last a full season. Nonetheless, Davis bounced back the next season with a coveted part on the hit sci-fi drama series Heroes, playing a character named Monica. In late 2007, Davis signed on to appear in the remake of the slasher movie classic Prom Night (to be released the following year), directed by Nelson McCormick. In 2009 she was cast in the debut season of the small-screen adaptation of 10 Things I Hate About You.

Trivia: Alabama native Octavia Spencer was working as part of the crew for the 1996 thriller A Time to Kill when she was handed the chance of a lifetime: Director Joel Schumacher thought she was right for a small role in the film, and Spencer's acting career was born. In addition to honing her craft on the professional stages of Los Angeles, Spencer continued to act on screen, appearing in a multitude of projects, including Never Been Kissed, Blue Streak, Big Momma's House, Dinner for Schmucks, and Peep World. Spencer also became a familiar TV face, with starring and recurring roles on LAX, Ugly Betty, Halfway Home, and Raising the Bar. A major boon for Spencer arrived in 2011 when, after 15 years in the industry, her performance in the critically acclaimed period movie The Help earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Trivia: Somewhere between John Goodman and Robert Loggia -- at least on a physical scale -- there exists portly screen presence Paul Rae. A consistently reliable supporting player whose undeniable onscreen charisma has made him equally popular on film and television, Rae has appeared on the silver screen in such films as Coach Carter, Next, and Daddy Day Camp, and on the small screen in such shows as Desperate Housewives, The West Wing, and The Closer. Despite the fact that Rae has only been active in the entertainment industry since 2003, he has racked up an impressive list of credits while working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood, and proven himself equally adept at all genres.

Trivia: While the majority of professional American sports commentators, such as Mike Ditka and Terry Bradshaw, inherit that job after retiring from the "field," broadcaster extraordinaire Bob Costas marks something of an exception. Though overwhelmingly well-versed in a myriad of sports -- including baseball, basketball, football, and the Olympics -- Costas (at 5' 7," with a slender frame) -- never played any of those games professionally. Yet, ironically, many regard Costas as far better versed than the game-to-sideline "crossovers." When he arrived on the scene in the early '80s, Costas essentially reinvented sports broadcasting by imparting levels of articulation, intelligence, polish, insight, and wit that were, according to one publication, unseen since the retirement of Howard Cosell. But unlike Cosell, Costas projected a congenial aura and probed effectively, without grating. Born March 22, 1952, in Queens, NY, Costas attended Long Island's Commack South High and, as an undergraduate, Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Communications. In the late '70s, he announced games for the Spirits of St. Louis, held a position at KMOX radio in St. Louis, and worked -- very briefly -- for CBS, before NBC signed him as a broadcaster in 1980, under the aegis of Don Ohlmeyer. From that position, Costas' assignments included emceeing NFL, NBA, and MLB games, alongside such legends as Tony Kubek, Bob Uecker, Isiah Thomas, and Bob Trumpy. Sports Illustrated summed up the audience appeal of Costas in 1986 by asserting, "[Costas is] able to pull together an audience. He appeals to the Tommy Dorsey crowd because he can talk about the DiMaggios, worships the old ballparks, and knows when to be reverent.... But he also pulls in the baby-boomers because he's one of them, and he knows when to be irreverent." In late August 1988, Costas expanded his network responsibilities with NBC to include hosting a late-night, Monday-Thursday talk show, Later With Bob Costas. Each 30-minute telecast featured Costas chatting, amiably and casually, with a single guest, usually an actor, actress, sports hero, politician, or newscaster. Memorable bits included conversations with Chevy Chase, Valerie Harper, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mario Cuomo, Steve Allen, Wilt Chamberlain, Dan Rather, Richard Lewis, Wayne Gretzky, and innumerable others. The program debuted on August 22, 1988, and wrapped five and a half years later, on February 25, 1994. Beginning in 2005, Costas signed with HBO to host the sports news magazine program Costas Now. Alongside Costas' obvious contributions to filmed sporting events, his work in feature films and documentaries (like that of Cosell and Uecker) is somewhat limited, predominantly to cameos in such pictures as The Scout and The Paper (both 1994). Costas lent a voice-only cameo, as Jake, to a 1996 episode of Frasier, cameoed as himself in a 1999 episode of The Drew Carey Show, and -- as a close friend of the late, mythic Mickey Mantle -- participated in an extended interview for the eponymous documentary about that superstar, Mantle (2005). Costas also parodied himself by voicing an automobile, Bob Cutlass, in the Disney-Pixar animated feature Cars (2006).

Trivia: Best remembered for playing plucky cub reporter Jimmy Olson in all four of the Superman films that starred Christopher Reeve, Marc McClure made his film debut in the Disney film Freaky Friday and in the television movie James at 15 (both 1977). He went on to play supporting roles and occasional leads in both venues. In 1979, McClure starred in the short-lived TV series California Fever.