Despite being engaging and immensely talented, actor Don Cheadle spent several years making thankless guest appearances on TV dramas and sitcoms before landing the role of fastidious hotel manager of "The Golden Palace" (1992-93), the CBS sitcom spin-off from the successful series, "The Golden Girls.” Largely chameleon-like throughout his career, Cheadle broke out with a critically acclaimed performance in Carl Franklin’s crime thriller, “Devil in a Blue Dress” (1995). He began garnering larger and more prominent roles, including a fine turn as a down-and-out porn actor in “Boogie Nights” (1997) and a ruthless, but charming ex-con in “Out of Sight” (1998).

While still confined to co-starring appearances, Cheadle always managed to garner notice, thanks in large part to his ability to add something extra to otherwise routine characters. But it was his performance as real-life hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina in “Hotel Rwanda” (2004) that earned Cheadle widespread recognition and his first Academy Award nomination for Best Leading Actor. Being one of Danny Ocean’s 11 in the hit remake of the Rat Pack film, “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001) only added to his A-list luster as one of the most respected actors working in Hollywood.

Despite wading through a significant amount of dreck at the beginning of his career, actor Tommy Lee Jones emerged to become one of the most admired and respected film stars of his generation. An inauspicious start on the daytime soap “One Life to Live” (ABC, 1967- ) eventually led to leading roles in made-for-television movies like “The Amazing Howard Hughes” (CBS, 1977) and “The Executioner’s Song” (NBC, 1982) that clearly demonstrated his acting prowess. An Emmy award win for “Lonesome Dove” (CBS, 1989) raised his fortunes for good, leading to defining film roles in “JFK” (1991), “The Fugitive” (1993) and “Men in Black” (1997).

Though he settled into a rut playing the grizzled veteran looking for redemption in below the radar fare like “The Hunted” (2003) and “The Missing” (2005), Jones found himself the talk of Oscar buzz once again with empathetic performances in “No Country For Old Men” (2007) and “In the Valley of Elah” (2007), both of which affirmed his status as an actor able to deliver some of the most powerful and nuanced performances of recent memory.

Actor and director Denzel Washington burst onto the big screen with an Oscar and Golden Globe-winning role in the Civil War epic “Glory” (1989). But over the following decade, the matinee-idol handsome actor became the first of his generation's African-American movie stars to land squarely on Hollywood's A-list – as likely to be tapped to play a heroic lead as any white actor would have been a shoe-in for only a decade prior. Likened to Sidney Poitier for his ability to appeal to a multiracial audience, Washington’s grounding force was a critical and audience favorite in historical dramas like “Cry Freedom” (1987), “Malcolm X” (1992) and “American Gangster” (2007), as well in more action-driven dramas such as “The Pelican Brief” (1993), “Remember the Titans” (2000) and “Training Day” (2001).

By the time he was famous, it seemed as though actor Morgan Freeman already had a long and venerable career. While he worked hard for years in small basement productions in New York City and on public television’s early morning kid’s show “The Electric Company” (PBS, 1971-77) – which, to his chagrin, was his most widely-recognized role – Freeman would not gain widespread exposure until he landed the Oscar-nominated role of the volatile pimp Fast Black in “Street Smart” (1987).

Because of that performance, Freeman catapulted into national prominence, quickly becoming a household name and one of Hollywood’s most distinguished performers. He was nominated again just two years later for his portrayal of Hoke Coleburn in “Driving Miss Daisy” (1989), a role reprised from a previous off-Broadway stint. A third nomination for “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994) further cemented Freeman’s already esteemed image as a quality actor.