Boris Kodjoe

A former model who parlayed his fame into a successful acting career, Boris Kodjoe earned a name as stalwart, often romantic support in such projects as "Soul Food" (Showtime, 2000-04), "Brown Sugar" (2002) and "Surrogates" (2009). "Soul Food" was his first break in acting and one of his more complex characters: a young man locked in a variety of struggles, from identity and sobriety to the day-to-day maintenance of a relationship. What followed were more often than not soft roles that traded on his photogenic nature, but Kodjoe persisted, eventually earning his first film and series leads in 2010 with "The Confidant" and the J.J. Abrams-produced "Undercovers" (NBC, 2010). Such high-profile material promised to elevate Kodjoe from dependable ensemble player to romantic lead in more mainstream productions, virtually guaranteeing a new kind of stardom for the actor.