Trivia: New York City native Rachel True longed to be an actress from her youngest years, watching the performances of her stepmother, renowned stage actress Verona Barnes. True's own first break came when she was cast for several episodes of The Cosby Show in 1991, as a friend of Theo's. She would later score recurring television roles on Beverly Hills 90210, The Drew Carey Show, Once and Again, and HBO's Dream On.In 1993, True moved to Los Angeles, which kick-started her film career. Her first notable appearance was opposite Chris Rock in the rap parody CB4 (1993). She next starred alongside Alyssa Milano in Embrace of the Vampire (1994), then stayed with the occult theme for the more widely seen witch flick The Craft (1996). True plays the most underwritten of four young Wiccan worshipers (opposite Fairuza Balk, Robin Tunney, and Neve Campbell), one of several roles she has taken that was originally written for a white actress. She and Campbell became best friends as a result of working together on the project.True ventured into indie filmmaking with Gregg Araki's Nowhere, the third installment in his "teen apocalypse trilogy," in which she won some acclaim for her portrayal of Mel, a sexually confused central cog of Araki's dystopian soap opera. She returned briefly to more commercial fare with Half Baked (1998), in which she plays Dave Chappelle's love interest and one of the few non-stoned characters. Since then it's been back to lesser-seen films -- most notably as a veteran rave girl in Greg Harrison's Groove (2000) -- as well as her television work.

Trivia: Actress Essence Atkins began appearing onscreen in the late '80s, with small appearances on shows like Saved By the Bell and The Cosby Show. She would go on to land a series of starring roles on short-lived series throughout the '90s like Under One Roof and Smart Guy before finding lasting success with a starring role on the comedy series Half and Half, which she stayed with from 2002 to 2006. After the show ended its run, Atkins made a number of appearances in movies like Love for Sale and Dance Flick.

Trivia: A Broadway actress by training, Valarie Pettiford earned a Tony nomination for her role in the principal cast of the musical Fosse. She would also earn critical acclaim for roles in shows like Chicago, but most viewers would become acquainted with Pettiford for her film at TV work. Beginning with appearances on shows like Another World and Walker, Texas Ranger, Pettiford spent the '90s building up her résumé. In 2002, she was cast in the recurring role of Gayle Noland on the crime drama The District. Around the same time, she took on the role of Big Dee Thorn on the comedy series Half and Half, which she'd stay with for the next four years. In 2008, she began a professional relationship with Tyler Perry, playing Sandra on the sitcom House of Payne, and playing weary wife Harriet in Perry's 2010 dramedy Why Did I Get Married Too?

Trivia: An inimitable comedian (and comedic actor) who billed himself as "America's favorite gaysian sweetheart," Alec Mapa (pronounced moppa) indeed played off of his Asian American identity and open homosexuality, to such a degree that they became veritable cornerstones of his shtick, as well as his spate of role choices. Mapa grew up in San Francisco during the 1970s, raised in a conservative, Catholic Filipino family but surrounded by bohemian lifestyles and multiculturalism that influenced and shaped him. He formally broke into show business with a role in an ABC After School Special and small turns in Alan Alda's seriocomedy A New Life (1988) and James Bridges' urban addiction drama Bright Lights, Big City (1988). The actor scored his broadest acclaim, however, in 1991, with a lead role as the transvestite opera star Song Liling, in the Broadway production of David Henry Hwang's play M. Butterfly. In the years that followed, Mapa moved into television and enjoyed guest bits on series including NYPD Blue, Friends, Roseanne, and Seinfeld. With many subsequent roles (including assignments as series regulars), Mapa aggressively strove to break new ground and open new doors in small-screen depictions of gay culture and lifestyles, and won broad acclaim and support in the LGBT community for doing so. Key assignments in this vein included a role as gay, plutonic best friend of homosexual writer Jason Bateman on the short-lived CBS sitcom Some of My Best Friends (2001), a multiseason turn as the gossip-driven executive assistant Adam Benet on the UPN sitcom Half & Half (2003); and, even more visibly, a portrayal of Vern, Gaby's gay best friend, on the series blockbuster Desperate Housewives. Additional features in which Mapa costarred included Connie and Carla (2004), Tru Loved (2007), and You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008).

Trivia: Versatile American actor Giancarlo Esposito was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, but grew up in Manhattan from the age of six. His mother was an African-American nightclub singer (who once shared a bill with Josephine Baker) and his father was an Italian stagehand. In show business most of his life, Esposito made his Broadway debut in a 1966 production of Maggie Flynn. His other stage credits include Sacrilege, Miss Moffatt, and Balm in Gilead. He won a 1981 Theatre World Award for his performance in Zooman and the Sign.On the big screen, Esposito started appearing in Spike Lee films during the late '80s in a wide range of roles with great character names. He was the frat leader Julian "Big Brother Almighty" in School Daze, the outspoken reactionary Buggin' Out in Do the Right Thing, the dandy pianist Left Hand Lacey in Mo' Better Blues, and the criminal Thomas Hayer in Malcolm X. Esposito's other film roles include an investigative journalist in Bob Roberts, an activist in Amos & Andrew, and a game show host in Reckless. In 1995, he earned an Independent Spirit award nomination for his supporting role of doting drug dealer Esteban in Boaz Yakin's debut drama Fresh. Esposito also appeared in Wayne Wang and Paul Auster's Smoke, along with the sequel Blue in the Face. The next year, he turned briefly to producing with the independent prison film The Keeper, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.On television, Esposito appeared on NYPD Blue, Law & Order, and the short-lived Fox comedy Bakersfield, P.D. In 1999, he earned an Image award nomination for his role as FBI Agent Michael Giardello on Homicide: Life on the Street. He also has contributed to the Fox television dramas The $treet and girls club. While teaching at the Atlantic Theatre Company, Esposito found time to portray real-life figures in the biopics Ali (as Cassius Clay Sr.) and Piñero (as Miguel Algarin). Projects for 2004 included James Hunter's feature Back in the Day and the television movie NYPD 2069. He played a detective in the thriller Derailed, and appeared in the indie drama SherryBaby. In 2008 he directed, starred in, and helped write the drama Gospel Hill. In 2010 he joined the cast of the highly-respected AMC drama series Breaking Bad, and appeared in the 2012 big-screen thriller Alex Cross.