We all know there’s Hollywood and then there’s black Hollywood. African American stars don’t get the same notoriety as their white counterparts despite their good looks, amazing acting chops and undeniable star power. Sad,right? From heartthrobs to veterans, these 15 thespians deserve the awards and accolades more than any other. Check out this list of black actors and actresses that should be leading in Hollywood.

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Nia Long

Nia Long is beautiful. She is also the girl next door with a great deal of sass and sophistication. She lit our fire playing Nina in “Love Jones” and Bird in “Soul Food.” She’s been acting for quite some time and her staying power is phenomenal. Hollywood should take a deeper look.

We love each of these actors and singers for their talent, but no role in film, TV or stage is more perfect than the roles they have together, reliving some of the most classic movie roles and songs as a duet. Here are 15 Black celebrity couples, primarily from the 90′s and beyond, we love to see together on the big screen, the main stage or in our headphones, and the many projects they’ve starred in together.

Source: Goldstar

Angela Bassett & Laurence Fishburne

This perfect cinematic couple have been featured in multiple projects together, from the big screen to the small stage. This couple most famously played Ike and Tina Turner for “What’s Love Got To Do With It,” were mother and father to Tre Styles (Cuba Gooding Jr.), performed on the stage together in “Fences,” and appeared together again in the 2006 film, “Akeelah and the Bee.”

Source: overbrookent.com

Love and Basketball was the bridging of two seemingly unrelated worlds, athletics and love. But the story came together seamlessly, with the help of the talented Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps. The film, the first for director Gina Prince-Bythewood, would go on to become the highest grossing film produced by a black woman at that time, (2001). Let’s dive in and see how this movie was made, and the secrets behind this romantic classic.

The movie ends, the credits roll, and you’re still sitting there in the movie theater, grinning over the residual effects of the couple’s clumsy kiss, enthusiastic sex…or their bold efforts to save the world. Viewers savor movies like this because it gives them a chance to bask in inflated Hollywood love stories, so they can indulge in love that they know or have yet to experience. Sometimes, the love that transpires between two characters can seem larger than the screen; and we can only imagine that if these lovers were real, they’d be the couples that everyone glared at with envy.

juxtapost.com

Their Eyes Were Watching God: Halle Berry & Michael Ealy

The telefilm Their Eyes Were Watching God, based on the soulful novel written by Zora Neale Hurston, places Berry’s character (Janie Crawford) opposite Ealy’s character (Tea Cake).  After two difficult marriages, Janie finds love with Tea Cake, who is younger than her and has questionable motives. Even so, the two run away and fall in love, however the movie ends with Janie having to shoot Tea Cake who is driven mad by rabies. While Berry and Ealy may seem like a surprising pairing, the two set the screen ablaze with their fiery chemistry. The pair leaves audiences blushing with their television-acceptable yet mouth dropping love scene. With the exception of the tragic ending, I would love if these two lovers were real. Click here to view the video which recaps their romance through clips from the movie.

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Juice director Ernest R Dickerson has said that in the ’90′s, black movies, specifically black movies set in the hood, were the “flavor of the month” and Juice was relatively easy to get made. Whether Hollywood’s fascination with “the hood” was a good thing or bad, it doesn’t take anything away from the fact that the cast and crew of this film managed to make a film that’s still relevant today. This year, marks the 20th anniversary of Juice and people still regard it as a classic, to Dickerson’s delight and surprise: “My daughter told me that her friends had Juice parties where they would watch the movie and recite the dialogue. Our little story still seems to resonate with so many young people today and I am very happy about that.” Check out the secrets behind this movie.

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The Brooklyn native with the large eyes and full lips has been hot to trot since he played Q in Juice and went head to head with a crazy Tupac Shakur. After years of playing athletes  (including the very hot Quincy in Love & Basketball), he struck gold with his role as Dr. Eric Foreman on the show “House,” and so did we because we got to watch him on television every week! Sure, he doesn’t look like Quincy going against Monica on the court in the backyard for love, but he’s still got it going on! Check out our ode to one of our favorite chocolate brothas.

Starpulse.com

The last love story I remember seeing Omar Epps star in was “Love and Basketball,” so this actor’s new venture is long overdue. Written under his production banner, BrooklynWorks Films, Omar Epps has created a romantic comedy titled “Between Us” that he plans to bring to life with the financial backing of YMCMB members Bryan “Baby” Williams and Ronald “Slim” Williams.

Omar told Deadline the finished script is about two best friends “looking for love in the wrong places with a contemporary twist.” (Sounds a little like “Brown Sugar.”) Not only has Omar written the script he will also star in the movie, alongside Tracey Edmonds, and although Young Money Cash Money seems like an odd collaborator for the project, Omar said the brothers were looking to expand their ever-growing empire.

“They loved the concept and in a perfect world, we’ll be shooting late summer or early fall, but you know how that goes.”

The search for a director for “Between Us” is currently underway while Omar busies himself with several other television projects, including “Southern Gothic,” a one-hour drama written by Michael Nourse, and the travel show “Mile High” starring David Arquette and Mike McGuiness which he just sold to the Travel Channel.

Shout out to Omar Epps for getting his production hustle on, I just hope this movie won’t be a straight to DVD/BET film.

Did you know Omar Epps had all of these television projects going on?

Brande Victorian is a blogger and culture writer in New York City. Follower her on Twitter at @be_vic.

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Adequate representation of black people and culture in TV and film is a well-chronicled fight in America but most people forget why. If there’s one thing the world can stop producing right this second and still get along fine, it’s actors. So this isn’t as much about numbers as it is about impact.

It’s vital that black people are well represented in film because of the awesome power of moving pictures. The normal human brain is wired to believe what you see, above all else. For centuries, people could reliably believe what was before their eyes i.e. if you see a flying man, then men must be able to fly. But that all changed when movies were invented.

Now you’re forced to cope with images, many more vivid than actual memories, that are merely figments of a producer’s imagination. On a cognitive level, you know that you’re watching TV, and that it is not reality. But on a deeper, sensory level, your brain is processing those images as knowledge and experience, just like always.

Enter millions of Americans watching black people robbing, killing, rapping or serving on TV, all day, every day. Add that to the fact that most of them are white and it’s obvious these TV/Film watchers are going to have fcuked up knowledge and experience of black people.

Why go into all this to bring you a list of Underrated Hollywood Actors?

(A) Reminders are always helpful and (B) when minorities are lumped into a category of an industry already divided by genres and generic award systems, they end up fighting for what’s left. Too often black actors are seen as a homogeneous group rather than unique and talented professionals.

These next few actors are underrated because they forced America to cope with marvelously diverse images of black people. And that is what adequate representation in Hollywood is all about. First up:

Let’s get one thing clear from the jump: men not named George Clooney are not averse to marriage as an institution. The characters in black love flicks (often starring Taye Diggs or Omar Epps) might have folks convinced that men would rather be garroted in the scrotum before they settle down, but that’s not the case….we’re just really, really cautious about who gets the Magic Stick for life.

I tried to think of at least five things that freak men out about getting hitched, but for me, it all fits under the umbrella of three:

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