No matter how famous, acclaimed and popular they become, ,most actors start out with small guest roles on television. If you’re a fan of sci-fi or police procedurals, you’ve seen stars like Michael B. Jordan, Courtney B. Vance and Aldis Hodge before they got their big breaks. As the new TV season kicks off, we thought it was a good time to revisit some of these early days with a fun roundup of your favorite Black stars before they were famous.
Angela Bassett didn’t appear on the soap opera “Search for Tomorrow” long, but it was evident even then that she was destined for stardom.
Courtney B. Vance started in the theater, notably performing in “Fences” opposite James Earl Jones. The pair reunited in the TV movie “Percy and Thunder,” which marked one of Vance’s earliest TV roles.
Now, he’s set to star in FX’s latest weird Ryan Murphy drama, “Grostequrie.” The series is executive produced by and co-stars Niecy Nash-Betts.
Actress/comedian Niecy Nash-Betts broke out on the comedy “Reno 911!” and the reality series “Clean House.” Before that she made multiple guest appearances in various comedies, including the Disney Channel hit “That’s So Raven.”
Before “Leverage” and “Black Adam,” Aldis Hodge memorably played “Supernatural’s” Jake, a soldier who became the victim of an evil demonic plan. Unfortunately, he ended up on the wrong side of the Winchesters.
Before she delivered everyone’s favorite one-liners on “Martin,” Tichina Arnold also got her start in soaps, playing Zena on “Ryan’s Hope.”
