Trivia: A screen performer from his early twenties, Columbus Short began his career as a movie actor with somewhat conventional roles in youth-oriented films, such as the 2006 releases Save the Last Dance 2 and Accepted. He worked his way into more serious and substantial material in the years to follow, however -- beginning with the role of Darius on Aaron Sorkin's critically praised but short-lived showbiz drama Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007). Short received critical kudos and added attention for his contribution to the family-oriented ensemble comedy This Christmas, playing an African-American man who arrives at his family's home to celebrate the Yuletide holiday -- without telling them that he has married a Caucasian woman. Additional assignments included the lead role in Quarantine (2008), directors John E. Dowdle and Drew Dowdle's remake of the Spanish horror film [REC]; and -- on a nostalgic note -- an evocation of blues maestro "Little Walter" Jacobs in director Darnell Martin's ambitious homage to the blues in 1950s Chicago, Cadillac Records (2008). His career continued with Armored, the remake of Death at a Funeral, The Losers and The Girl Is In Trouble. In 2012 he was cast in the TV series Scandal.

Trivia: Meagan Good started acting onscreen in the late '90s, and has worked in a wide array of genres. Her first major film role was in Kasi Lemmons' gently observed, well-received ensemble drama Eve's Bayou (1997). Good followed it up with such projects as the romantic comedy Deliver Us From Eva (2002), the teen dance film You Got Served (2004), and the post-noir mystery Brick (2005). In 2007, Good signed for a supporting role in the Mike Myers comedy The Love Guru (2008). Though that film was an infamous turkey, she continued to find work in projects such as 35 & Ticking (which she co-produced), Jumping the Broom, and the sleeper box office hit Think Like a Man, as well as the drama The Obama Effect.

Trivia: Born in Camden, AR, R&B musician Shaffer Chimere Smith Jr. is better known as his stage name Ne-Yo. His debut album In My Own Words was released in 2006, and the singer would remain squarely in the public eye during the following years, with a consistent stream of hits. Ne-Yo would also make regular appearances in films, with roles in Save the Last Dance 2, Stomp the Yard, and Battle: Los Angeles. He starred as the Tin Man in the NBC's live-event version of The Wiz in 2015.

Trivia: Darrin Dewitt Henson established himself as a film and television mainstay during the 2000s, deftly and effectively juggling onscreen acting roles and dance performances with off-camera choreographic work. Henson made his first strong impression on American television, as one of the main characters (Lem) on the domestic comedy series Soul Food (2000-2004), then emceed a popular dance-themed instructional video (the 2001 Darrin's Dance Grooves, followed by a sequel in 2007), and moved swiftly into features. More high-profile projects included director Russ Parr's showbiz drama The Last Stand (2006), the blockbuster urban teen movie/dance film Stomp the Yard (2007), and Gary Fleder's inspirational sports drama The Express (2008, in which he portrayed football player Jim Brown). Henson also appeared in a recurring role on the TV family drama Lincoln Heights as Ruben (2007-2008). As a choreographer, Henson worked with a myriad of superstars including Britney Spears, *NSYNC, and Jennifer Lopez.

Trivia: Actor Brian J. White eked out an unusual path to showbusiness. A Massachusetts native and the son of Boston Celtics player JoJo White, Brian attended the Ivy League Dartmouth College, majoring in poly sci, theater arts, and psychology, but his athletic prowess yielded two offers to go professional: one with the NFL and another with the National Lacrosse League. White opted for the NFL, and signed with the New England Patriots, but a sporting injury derailed his career and found him forking off into professional modeling, and then acting. Within the latter arena, White began to specialize in onscreen portrayals of intelligent, polished, and urbane men. The actor took his earliest screen bow with a lead role: that of Tracy Wainwright, a young executive who strikes up an ill-advised affair with his boss, only to find his career jeopardized when he falls in love with another woman, in the 2001 workplace drama Me & Mrs. Jones. Unfortunately for White and his co-stars, that film failed to achieve wide theatrical release in the United States (despite touring the festival circuit), but the actor achieved greater recognition with a multi-episode role on the small-screen police drama The Shield (as Detective Tavon Garris) and supporting turns in the features Mr. 3000 (2004), The Family Stone (2005), and Stomp the Yard (2007). He returned to the small screen in fall 2007, playing Lieutenant Carl Davis in a recurring role on the vampire detective series Moonlight.

Trivia: A memorable voice and a major talent, Chicago-born Harry J. Lennix first caught audiences' attention with the role of Dr. Greg Fischer on the medical drama ER. He would go on to make waves in films like Collateral Damage, The Matrix sequels, and Ray. as the 2000's and 2010's unfolded, Lennix would add more prominent TV roles to his resume, memorably starring on 24, Commander in Chief, and Dollhouse.

Trivia: Born to a first-generation Cuban immigrant couple and raised in the Washington, D.C., area, Laz Alonso gravitated to acting interests at an early age, but temporarily forsook the arts in favor of a more practical and well-grounded education, studying business at nearby Howard University's marketing program. After graduation, Alonso left the District of Columbia and took off for the Big Apple, where he worked as an investment banker, but footlights and soundstages beckoned, and with the encouragement of friends, Alonso began auditioning for acting assignments and soon landed appearances in a string of commercials, then guest roles on series programs including CSI, The Practice, and Navy: NCIS, before gracing the casts of theatrically released features. Meanwhile, the young performer -- who had studied classical piano formally for nearly a decade -- parlayed his melodic interests into reggaeton performances and also involved himself in a big way with altruism, launching a nonprofit group for children of single-parent households.Alonso's big-screen projects included the 2003 urban horror comedy Leprechaun: Back 2 tha Hood; the 2005 Constantine (with a role as a security guard in a morgue), and the 2005 Jarhead (as a soldier stationed in the Gulf War). He worked for Roland Joffé (The Killing Fields) as a detective hot on the trail of a serial killer, in that filmmaker's critically despised torture porn outing Captivity (2007), then essayed a small supporting turn in the same year's Dirty Sexy Money on ABC. Also in 2007, Alonso played a frat boy at an African American college in Atlanta in director Sylvain White's teen comedy-cum-dance film Stomp the Yard. At about the same time, the young actor worked under the aegis of Spike Lee in that helmer's World War II-era period drama Miracle at St. Anna (2008), and signed to act in director James Cameron's hotly anticipated, mega-budgeted science fiction epic Avatar (2009).

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: Became the youngest member of the Tampa Bay area's Shakespeare in the Park program at the age of 13. Studied theater and performed in productions at his high school through Pinellas County Center for the Arts. Was an on-air personality for Clark Atlanta University's campus radio station WSTU 98.1. Discovered by MTV while working at CAU's radio station and was hired as a video jockey for their college network mtvU. Participated in episodes of MTV's Disaster Date circa 2010. Was featured in CBS' Diversity Showcase in 2011. In 2015, was listed as one of Variety magazine's 10 TV Actors to Watch. Has been regularly performing stand-up comedy since 2007. Is a first-degree black belt.

Trivia: Born in Tappahannock, VA, R&B vocalist Chris Brown shot from obscurity to instant celebrity in 2005, when the release of his blockbuster single "Run It!" (produced by Scott Storch) qualified the then 16-year-old as the first male solo recording artist to issue a track that went straight to the top of the Billboard singles chart. In no time at all, Brown landed a covetable recording contract with Jive records, and his first two albums, an eponymous 2005 release and the 2007 Exclusive, performed sensationally well. Like many of his R&B and hip-hop predecessors, Brown soon segued from music into filmed entertainment, first as the subject of the 2006 documentary Chris Brown's Journey, then with supporting dramatic roles in such productions as the dance-themed urban drama Stomp the Yard (2007) and the holiday-themed family drama This Christmas. Brown graduated to star billing with his turn in Phenom (2008), as a high-school basketball whiz-turned-professional player whose team must go head-to-head on the court with the team to which his NBA-playing father belongs.Brown courted infamy in 2009 when he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend, singer Rhianna the day of the Grammy awards. Although he was subject of much deserved public ridicule for this event, he did appear in 2010's Takers, and was part of the ensemble cast in the hit comedy Think Like a Man in 2012.

Trivia: His father, originally from Sierra Leone, was a party DJ in Atlanta. Ran track in high school. Turned down a scholarship to Juilliard. Was a member of the Christian rap group Four More Disciples. Starred in the musical Fela!, first off-Broadway in 2008 (winning an Obie Award for his performance), then transferring to Broadway in 2009. Performs a rigorous workout before theater performances.