What Men Want

Taraji P. Henson (Actor) .. Ali Davis

Born: September 11, 1970
Birthplace: Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Trivia: Washington, D.C., native Taraji P. Henson didn't always know that her smoldering charisma and beautiful face would make her a professional actress. On the contrary, she originally studied electrical engineering when she enrolled at North Carolina Agric & Tech. She later transferred to Howard University, where she attended classes while working as a secretary at the Pentagon, and as a singer and dancer aboard a cruise ship. She eventually changed her academic focus to theater and graduated in 1995. Henson's career began with appearances on Homicide: Life on the Street and ER, but it really took off when she was cast in a major supporting role in 2001's Baby Boy and 2004's Hustle & Flow, in which she also showcased her vocal talents, singing on the track "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp" for the movie's soundtrack, which took home the Best Song Oscar that year. Henson later moved on to take major roles in Smokin' Aces and Talk to Me. Henson made the most of her work as the mother of the backward-aging man in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and her performance garnered Best Supporting Actress nominations from both the Screen Actors Guild, and the Academy. She became an in-demand character actress after that success and appeared in a series of films including Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys, the remake of The Karate Kid, Date Night, and Larry Crowne. In 2012, she was part of the ensemble in the hit comedy Think Like a Man, and later reprised her role in the sequel, Think Like a Man Too. Henson returned to television on the CBS crime drama Person of Interest, playing an NYPD detective. Her character was dramatically killed off in the third season, with Henson claiming she wanted to focus on her film career. However, she quickly took a role on the FOX musical drama Empire, playing breakout character Cookie Lyon.

Aldis Hodge (Actor) .. Will

Born: September 20, 1986

Trivia: When he initially surfaced as an on-camera presence during the 1990s and 2000s, supporting actor Aldis Hodge recalled a young Will Smith, with his looks, his relaxed charm, and easygoing manner; like Smith, Hodge made one of his first significant impressions on the small screen, yet he maintained a lower profile. Parts included guest starring appearances on such series programs as ER, CSI, NYPD Blue, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Around 2005, Hodge broke into big-screen features, first with small-scale roles, such as an appearance in the David Mamet-Stuart Gordon thriller Edmond, then in that same year's Snoop Dogg-headlined urban drama The Tenants. Hodge also provided one of the adorable penguins' voices in George Miller's animal picture Happy Feet (2006). One the small screen that year, Hodge could be seen in a recurring role on the critically acclaimed sports drama series Friday Night Lights as Ray "Voodoo" Tatum. He enjoyed a healthy run on the hit cable program Leverage as part of a group of criminals who take revenge against other scammers in order to help out those who have been victimized. Aldis Hodge is not to be confused with Al Hodge (Captain Video and His Video Rangers), a television actor from the '50s and '60s -- nor are they related.

Richard Roundtree (Actor) .. Skip Davis

Born: July 09, 1942
Died: October 24, 2023
Birthplace: New Rochelle, New York, United States

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.

Wendi Mclendon-covey (Actor) .. Covey-Olivia

Born: October 10, 1969
Birthplace: Bellflower, California, United States

Trivia: Best known for her role as Deputy Clementine Johnson on the series Reno 911! between 2003 and 2009, actress and comedian Wendi McLendon-Covey has also garnered fans as a member of the popular Groundlings improv troupe. Following her run on Reno 911!, McLendon-Covey began making more appearances on the big screen, in films like 2010's Public Relations and 2011's Bridesmaids -- the later of which found the emergnig actress scoring her biggest mainstream hit to date. Meanwhile, the former Reno 911! star could once again be seen on the small screen thanks to a recurring role on the hit sitcom The Rules of Engagement.

Tracy Morgan (Actor) .. Joe 'Dolla' Barry

Born: November 10, 1968
Birthplace: Bronx, New York, United States

Trivia: New York-born Saturday Night Live cast member Tracy Morgan memorably spoofed everyone from Fat Albert to Tiger Woods' father during his time on the long-running comedy television staple. Working in mostly bit roles until a scathingly incisive skit in which he claimed that his biggest role each week was the guy waving in the background during the closing credits, Morgan then began a streak of standout characters that quickly placed his distinctive mark among his fellow cast members. Morgan appeared on television's Martin before joining the cast of SNL in September 1996, later appearing in 3rd Rock From the Sun and in such films as Half Baked (1998) and Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001). With his film career picking up momentum with such comedies as 30 Years to Life and Frank McKlusky, C.I., it appeared that Morgan would enjoy a healthy career away from his Saturday Night Live home. Morgan appeared in the Chris Rock-directed comedy Head of State, and was the star of the short-lived sitcom The Tracy Morgan Show. He also contributed regularly to the prank-phone-calls-with-puppets series Crank Yankers. In addition to a video release compiling his most memorable moments from Saturday Night Live, Morgan appeared in Adam Sandler's remake of The Longest Yard, and played a role in the Wayans brothers comedy Little Man. Morgan was one of many contributors to Bob Saget's spoof Farce of the Penguins. In the fall of 2006, he joined the cast of 30 Rock, former SNL head writer Tina Fey's new sitcom about the backstage antics at a similar live sketch comedy show. A major hit for NBC, 30 Rock earned Morgan an Emmy nomination in 2009, and was still going strong three years later. Meanwhile, when he wasn't cracking up television viewers, Morgan could frequently be seen on the big screen in such films as the Kevin Smith buddy cop comedy Cop Out, and the Neil LaBute remake Death at a funeral. Though in 2011 Morgan received a verbal lashing from GLAAD following a stand-up routine that the organization viewed as homophobic, the quick witted writers at 30 Rock wasted no time turning versy into comedy gold by poking fun at the incident in primetime.

Josh Brener (Actor) .. Brandon Wallace

Born: October 01, 1984
Birthplace: Houston, Texas, United States

Trivia: Began acting in sixth grade when an injury prevented him from playing baseball. Won a Tommy Tune Award, given to Houston-area high schools and their students, in 2003 for his leading role in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Studied acting at the American Repertory Theatre. Was president of the Hasty Pudding Theatricals while in college. Teaches and coaches at Stan Kirsch Studios in Hollywood.

Tamala Jones (Actor) .. Mari

Born: November 12, 1974
Birthplace: Pasadena, California, United States

Trivia: Actress Tamala Jones launched her career as a model, appearing in magazine ads and television commercials, before landing her first acting job on an episode of the preteen sitcom California Dreams, but her interest in the craft goes back to early childhood, when Jones and her cousin would stage backyard shows. Los Angeles-born and raised, Jones first studied drama in the sixth grade. As a young woman, she guest starred on series ranging from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to E.R. to The Wayans Brothers. She had her first regular television role playing a student in the ABC network's short-lived drama Dangerous Minds. Jones entered feature films with a small role in How to Make an American Quilt (1995) and had her first starring film role in Booty Call (1997). In 1998, Jones starred in the short-lived NBC summer replacement sitcom For Your Love. After appearing in Blue Streak and The Wood the following year, Jones began to gain even more momentum in 2000 with roles in Ice Cube's Next Friday and the Tim Meadows SNL vehicle The Ladies Man. Jones would later share the limelight with a talented cast in Kingdom Come in 2001. She continued to work steadily in a variety of projects including Head of State, Daddy Day Camp, Who's Your Caddy?, and What Love Is before being cast on the television show Castle as Lanie Paris. In 2010 she starred in and co-produced the romantic comedy 35 & Ticking.

Phoebe Robinson (Actor) .. Ciarra

Max Greenfield (Actor) .. Kevin Myrtle

Born: September 04, 1979

Trivia: Studied art in university. Has said that the worst job he ever had was delivering pharmaceuticals to retirement homes. First big break was on the MTV series Undressed. Appeared on Veronica Mars as Deputy Leo and on the series Greek as gay college student Michael.

Jason Jones (Actor)

Born: June 03, 1967
Birthplace: Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Trivia: Appeared in commercials for Budweiser and Molson. Was a member of the sketch-comedy troupe, The Bobroom. Cowrote, coproduced and starred in Ham & Cheese. Landed recurring roles on Queer as Folk and How I Met Your Mother. As a correspondent for The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, he visited Iran to shoot segments that wrapped up filming just before the tumultuous 2009 election.

Brian Bosworth (Actor) .. Nick Ivers

Born: March 09, 1965

Chris Witaske (Actor) .. Eddie

Erykah Badu (Actor) .. Sister

Born: February 26, 1971
Birthplace: Dallas, Texas, United States

Trivia: Worked as a waitress in Steve Harvey's comedy club in Dallas. Appeared nude in public while being filmed for the music video for the song Window Seat; the video ends on the exact spot in Dallas where John F. Kennedy was shot. Known as the First Lady of Neo-Soul. Has appeared in numerous movies including Blues Bothers 2000 and Cider House Rules. Founder of the charity Beautiful Love Incorporated Non-Profit Development (B.L.I.N.D.) to serve inner-city youth through the arts. Is a practicing vegan.

Kristen Ledlow (Actor) .. Herself

Kellan Lutz (Actor) .. Captain Fucktastic

Born: March 15, 1985
Birthplace: Dickinson, North Dakota, United States

Trivia: Actor Kellan Lutz has a face that feels eerily familiar, partly because of his many appearances on shows like CSI and Six Feet Under and partly because even before his acting career took off Lutz's face could be seen gracing the pages of Abercrombie catalogs. The model-turned-actor soon graduated from TV to film roles with appearances in movies like Stick It and Prom Night, and by the time he was 23, he'd been cast in the role of Emmett Cullen in the highly anticipated 2008 film adaptation of the young-adult novel Twilight, making him an even more familiar face to legions of fans. Lutz would remain active for the next several years, appearing in the Twilight sequels, as well as movies like A Warrior's Heart.

Matias Alvarez (Actor) .. Valet Guy

Paul B. Johnson (Actor) .. Scott

Kausar Mohammed (Actor) .. Jenna Abbiddi

Ta'j (Actor) .. Naranja Jenkines-Tough Boxer

Auston Jon Moore (Actor) .. Ben

Devonta Freeman (Actor) .. Himself

John Collins (Actor) .. Himself

Shane Paul McGhie (Actor) .. Jamal Barry

Born: November 26, 1993
Birthplace: Los Angeles, California, United States

Trivia: Parents are Jamaican.First developed his passion for acting while training at the Theatre Arts Department of Beverly Hills High School.Was in Madrigals (advanced choir), and thus received classical vocal training.Made his feature film debut playing Spike in the 2015 biographical crime drama Victor.Lent his voice to the basketball simulation video game NBA 2K18.

Lisa Leslie (Actor) .. Herself

Born: July 07, 1972
Birthplace: Gardena, California, United States

Trivia: Scored 101 points in the first half of a high-school game against South Torrance High (CA), which protested the game by forfeiting at halftime down 102-24. It was an annual tradition at her high school for the senior captain try to score as many points as possible in the last game of the regular season. Signed modeling contract with Wilhelmina Agency in 1996. Allocated to the Los Angeles Sparks in the inaugural WNBA draft in 1997. In a game against the now-defunct Miami Sol on June 30, 2002, became the first WNBA player to dunk in game action, a distinction that stood until June 22, 2008, when Sparks teammate Candace Parker dunked against the Indiana Fever. Took the 2007 season off to give birth to a daughter, Lauren, on June 15, 2007. Along with author Larry Burnett, published the book Don't Let the Lipstick Fool You: The Making of a Champion in May 2008. Became first team-sport athlete to win four consecutive Olympic gold medals with the victory by Team USA in Beijing in 2008, and holds the U.S. Olympic women's records in scoring and rebounds. Announced her retirement effective at the end of the 2009 WNBA season.

Desi Ray Morris (Actor) .. Female Dancer

Marc Inniss (Actor) .. Male Dancer

Christopher Alvarez (Actor) .. Male Dancer

Charles Green (Actor) .. Dr. Wilson

Denitra Isler (Actor) .. Nurse

Jim France (Actor) .. Elderly Man

Deja Dee (Actor) .. Hairdresser

Pete Davidson (Actor)

Born: November 16, 1993
Birthplace: Staten Island, New York, United States

Trivia: Lost his father, a firefighter, in the 9/11 terrorist attacks at the age of 7. Began doing stand-up comedy at 16. Was discovered by Nick Cannon at age 17. Made his television premiere on Gotham Comedy Live. Was named as one of Variety's Top 10 Comics to Watch for 2014. Is the first cast member of Saturday Night Live to be born in the 1990s.

Mark Cuban (Actor) .. Himself

Born: July 31, 1958
Birthplace: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States

Trivia: A self-made billionaire entrepreneur, Mark Cuban made business history when -- at the age of 32 -- he sold his computer consulting firm MicroSolutions to corporate giant CompuServe and became fabulously wealthy overnight. Cuban later did the same with yet another enterprise, the live-streaming Internet operation Broadcast.com, and sold it to Yahoo! for a record-breaking price that pushed his own net worth into the billions. He then acquired the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and founded HDNet. Cuban achieved recognition outside of the boardroom in 2007, when ABC tapped him as one of the celebrity contestants on its trend-setting competitive reality series Dancing with the Stars, opposite partner Kym Johnson. Cuban worked steadily as an executive producer through the late 2000s and early 2010s; among the most notable titles include Two Lovers (2008), The Road (2009), and The Girlfriend Experience (2012).

Shaquille O’Neal (Actor)

Born: March 06, 1972
Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey, United States

Trivia: Shaquille O'Neal is best known as the hulking 7'1", 300-pound center of basketball's Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers, but his is the rare sports personality able to cross over, with debatable success, into other areas of entertainment, such as movies and rap music. He has also been a spokesman for such popular brands as Pepsi and Reebok.The NBA's future dominant big man and top attraction was born on March 6, 1972, in Newark, NJ, and grew up an army brat, raised on overseas military bases. An All-American and player of the year at Louisiana State University, O'Neal was selected as the top pick in the 1992 NBA draft by the Magic, immediately becoming their meal ticket and earning Rookie of the Year honors. As his persona grew toward household name status, Shaq turned his attention toward film work, first appearing as himself in the rap parody CB4 (1993) and then garnering decent reviews as -- surprise, surprise -- a basketball player in William Friedkin's courtside corruption story Blue Chips (1994).By this time, O'Neal had morphed into one of the most popular professional athletes and a Jordan-sized phenomenon, and his rap career was born. Starting to wear ornate jewelry, he recorded a song with Fu Schnickens and soon released his own album, Shaq Diesel (1993), which sold more than a million copies. Although no one has ever suggested he quit his day job to focus on rhyming, O'Neal has continued to release almost an album a year and befriended such legit collaborators as Snoop Dogg, Mos Def, and Common.It was when Shaq first tried to carry a movie and stretch his limited range that he earned his reputation as a laughable novice, unable to attract crowds in the droves that came to watch him dunk and block shots. He received top billing as a larger-than-life genie in the dopey PG-dud Kazaam (1996), which earned more critical hazings than dollars at the box office (a shade under 19 million dollars). When his follow-up, the harder-edged DC comics Superman spin-off Steel (1997) also went belly up, managing a stomach-churning 1.7 million dollars, Shaq basically hung up his high tops as an actor. Although he purportedly signed with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1996 off-season to be closer to Hollywood, O'Neal preferred to concentrate on his rapping and winning his first and second NBA championships in 2000 and 2001.

Charmin Lee (Actor)

Karl-Anthony Towns (Actor) .. Himself

Born: November 15, 1995
Birthplace: Edison, New Jersey, United States

Trivia: Set an NBA record for the most three-pointers made in a single game by a center with 7 in 2019. Recorded a career-high 56 points against the Atlanta Hawks in 2018. Named to the All-NBA Third Team in 2018. Won the NBA Skills Challenge during All-Star Weekend in 2016. Named NBA Rookie of the Year in 2016 after a standout first season in the league. Selected as the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Represented the Dominican Republic national team in international competition due to his mother's heritage since 2012.

Roshawn Franklin (Actor) .. James

Born: June 27, 1982

Dawnisha Halfkenny (Actor) .. Waitress

Jay DeVon Johnson (Actor) .. Reverend Bates

Antjuan Rhames (Actor) .. Groomsman

Taraja Ramsess (Actor) .. Groomsman

Ashani Roberts (Actor) .. Gabby

Cristian Gonzalez (Actor) .. Louis

Ben Aycrigg (Actor) .. Craig

JoAnna Lorene (Actor) .. Woman In Crowd

Damita Jane Howard (Actor) .. Tasha

Shonda Morgan (Actor) .. Parent

Grant Hill (Actor) .. Himself

Born: October 05, 1972

Adam Silver (Actor) .. Himself

Justin Alvarez (Actor) .. Valet Guy

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