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CAST BIOGRAPHIES

JESSIE T. (Cam Calloway)

Jessie T. Usher became inspired to act at the tender age of five. In 2003, his family moved to to help him pursue a professional career, leading Usher to land co-star and guest-star roles in various television shows including: CBS’ “Without A Trace,” ” Numbers,” “,” and “Criminal Minds,” ABC’s “Lincoln Heights,” Disney’s “Hannah Montana,” the Nickelodeon pilot, “Summer Camp,” and Hub Network’s “G.I. Joe: Renegades” as a voice-over artist.

Usher’s first big break came in 2011 playing the role of Lyle Hugginson, the popular jock with a love for online fantasy games in Cartoon Network’s TV movie “Level Up.” This film subsequently became a well-loved TV series, in which Jessie reprised his role throughout the show’s two seasons. He can also be seen in the movies Beautiful Boy, , and as a voice-over artist in Teenage.

Usher will next appear as high school football player Tayshon Lanear in the upcoming 2014 feature film When The Game Stands Tall.

RONREACO LEE (Reggie Vaughn)

A Decatur, Illinois native, RonReaco Lee began his career with a small role in the award-winning film, Glory, with Denzel Washington. Later, he went on to star in Guess Who?, opposite and 's Madea Goes to Jail opposite . He was a series regular on ABC's "In the Motherhood," and recurred regularly on FOX's "The Good Guys.” Most recently, he starred in the original comedy series, "Let’s Stay Together," on BET.

In his spare time Lee enjoys spending time with his family, photography, and gearing his focus towards future endeavors that include writing and directing.

ERICA ASH (M-Chuck Calloway)

Erica Ash will next appear in the FX pilot “Death Pact” opposite Tracy Morgan. Since bursting onto the scene with series regular roles on “MADtv” and the "Big Gay Sketch Show,” Ash has appeared as a series regular on Judy Greer’s pilot for ABC and currently recurs as ’s ex-wife on ET’s “Real Husbands of Hollywood.” This past year Ash starred on the big screen opposite in 5, and will next be seen in the Weinstein’s thriller Kristy.

A true triple threat, Ash originated the role of ‘Nina Simone’ in the off-Broadway production “The Soul Doctor” and starred in “Baby it’s You” on Broadway the previous year. She most recently showcased her incredible talent as an actress and singer in December when she was flown to New York to test with Lorne Michaels for “.”

TEYONAH PARRIS (Missy Vaughn)

Juilliard alum and versatile television, film, and stage actress, Teyonah Parris, is taking over the silver and small screens in 2014. As part of the 2013 SAG® nominated ensemble cast of hit AMC dramatic series “Mad Men,” Parris is no stranger to the limelight though. On “Mad Men,” she portrays ‘Dawn Chambers,’ Don Draper's loyal secretary and the first African American hire at the show's firm.

Parris also recently made her Sundance debut in 2014 for the world premiere of Dramatic Competition and Jury award winning feature, Dear White People, an analytical examination of identity in a post-racial America, where she conquered her first leading lady role.

Parris also showed her comedic skills in Park City, premiering her second feature at Sundance, the newly released romantic comedy They Came Together opposite Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler. In addition to film and television, Parris made her professional stage debut on Broadway in Tony® Award-winning playwright John Guare's “A Free Man of Color.” Set at the turn of the 19th century, the George C. Wolfe directed comedy also starred Jeffrey Wright and opened to rave reviews. Other credits of Parris’ include Columbia Pictures' How do You Know (opposite Reese Witherspoon), “CSI,” and “.”

TICHINA ARNOLD (Cassie Calloway)

Tichina Arnold is a two time NAACP Image Award winning actress. Her first Image Award was for her role as Pam Jones on the hit TV series "Martin.” Her second award was for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series for her first season starring in the critically acclaimed comedy “,” a series inspired by the childhood experiences of comedian . Arnold plays Rochelle, Chris' (Tyler James Williams) strict, sassy mother, who runs the household on a tight budget, but is the glue that holds the family together.

Arnold worked on another hit TV series "Happily Divorced" which starred Fran Drescher of "The Nanny" and Rita Moreno, the Academy® and Tony® award-winning actress. "Happily Divorced" followed the life of Fran Drescher's character after finding out her husband is gay, with the two of them still living under the same roof. Arnold played

Judi, Fran's best friend who does her best to help guide the newly-divorced Fran back into the world of dating after having been married to a gay man for 18 years.

Arnold has also appeared on television in “Ryan’s Hope,” “All My Children,” “The Cosby Show,” “Law & Order,” “The Norm Show,” “One on One,” “Brothers," "Raising Hope," and "Let's Stay Together." Her animation credits include “American Dad,” “The Boondocks,” and presently the voice of the ‘Pink Pill’ wireless speaker by Beats By Dre.

In film, she has starred in Big Momma's House with , the critically acclaimed Civil Brand, as well as Dancing in September, Scenes from a Mall, The Little Shop of Horrors, and the blockbuster comedy Wild Hogs, starring Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence, William H. Macy and John Travolta.

She starred in her first dramatic role titled, The Lena Baker Story, co-starring Peter Coyote, Beverly Todd, and Michael Rooker. She plays the title role of Baker, the first Georgia woman sent to the electric chair. Baker became a virtual sex slave to her white employer (Peter Coyote) and killed him, claiming self-defense. Arnold is also featured in Lifetime’s “A Day Late A Dollar Short” starring Whoopi Goldberg and Ving Rhames based on a novel written by Terry MacMillan, Transformers 2, Stolen Child, Summoned, The Great Divide and Dance Flick.

After getting her first taste of performing in front of her family's church congregation at age 4, Arnold began vocal training and appearing on stage at an early age. She first appeared in “The Me Nobody Knows” at Brooklyn’s Billie Holiday Theatre, followed by “Hair,” “Romance and Hard Times,” and “Haggadah” at The Joseph Papp Theatre. In 2004, she toured in the lead role of the musical hit “If These Hips Could Talk,” which broke box office records in over 55 cities. In 2007, she starred in a holiday play, written and directed by Debbie Allen called “Alex in Wonderland.” She also appeared in the revival production of “The Wiz” as the villainous ‘Evilene’ at the City Center in New York and has recently appeared in the Off-Broadway smash “Love, Loss, and What I Wore.”

In addition to her acting career, Arnold lends her time to several charitable organizations. She is on the National PTA Advisory Board, the largest volunteer child advocacy association in the nation. The National PTA provides families, both children and parents alike, a powerful voice with which to speak so that our children can be successful in school and in life. This is something Tichina feels very passionately about. She also cares about children and the youth of Los Angeles and has dedicated many man-hours to seeing organizations that strive to help our youth prosper and thrive. She has done extensive work to help raise money for several of these organizations, like Hire L.A., which she worked on with former Mayor Villaraigosa’s office, an organization that was dedicated to training the youth of Los Angeles and give them the skills they need to succeed in today’s fast-paced work environment. She has also supported other educational organizations including America’s Promise Grad Nation Campaign, Black Girls Rock, BET’s Leading Women Defined and Microsoft's STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) Program.

Arnold has also helped lend her time and help raise more awareness and money for those who are sick and in need, having worked with several organizations over the years. She and her sister formed the We Win Foundation which helps individuals, as well as the families/caregivers who support those suffering with Lupus and other related autoimmune diseases.

In between acting jobs, Arnold loves performing her music with her band KNOW Pressure. She and KNOW Pressure have been playing regularly to packed audiences throughout the greater Los Angeles area.

MIKE EPPS (Uncle Julius)

Mike Epps is generating an extraordinary amount of buzz among his peers for being not only one of the funniest comic actors in town, but also for his burgeoning dramatic talent. He recently completed an arch on the BET show “Being Mary Jane” and the Universal feature Term Life starring opposite Vince Vaughn and Hallie Steinfield. The film tracks Nick Barrow (Vaughn), who takes his estranged daughter (Steinfeld) on the lam when a heist goes south and he takes out a life insurance policy on himself that doesn’t take effect for 21 days. Epps plays a dirty cop who is trying to frame Vaughan’s character.

This summer he will shoot the HBO bio-pic “Bessie” based on Bessie Smith, played by . The film chronicles how Smith overcame her tempestuous personal life to become one of the most acclaimed performing and recording artists of the 1920s and ’30s, earning the nickname ‘Empress of the Blues.’ Epps plays ‘Richard Morgan,’ a bootlegger and romantic interest to Bessie Smith. He is also currently developing the script Any Means Necessary for Sony pictures with Neal Moritz attached to produce. He will star opposite Marlon Wayans in this film about a two brothers- one a cop and one a criminal.

In 2011, he was awarded an NAACP Image Award for “Best Supporting Actor” for his role in the Sony Pictures film, Jumping the Broom. He continued to receive critical praise for his dramatic turn in 2012 with Sparkle, opposite Whitney Houston and Jordan Sparks. He further pursued his dramatic side with two important roles: starring opposite Forest Whitaker and Anthony Mackie in the Lionsgate thriller, Repentance, being released through Lionsgate/Codeblack Entertainment., followed by the independent Nina Simone biopic, Nina, starring Zoe Saldana. In Nina, he plays the legendary Richard Pryor, who opened for the singer in the early 60’s.

Epps is also currently on his Live Nation national tour “Mike Epps; After Dark” through the end of 2014. In 2009, he headlined his hugely successful stand-up special, “Mike Epps: Underrated and Never Faded,” and in 2011 introduced the world to new comedic talent with, “Mike Epps Presents…,” both of which aired on Showtime. He also released his first comedy rap album called “Funny Bidness: Da Album.” The album featured , Kid Rock, and Slim Thug, to name a few. That year also marked the release of his comedy DVD “Funny Bidness.” With his undying love for hip-hop, Mike hosted the BET Hip-Hop Awards from 2009-2012. He’ll continue comedic hosting duties this fall with “Shaq’s Comedy All-Stars” set to air on Showtime.

Since 2000, Epps steadily climbed his way up the stand-up comedy ranks when he was recognized by a national audience in 1995 for appearing on HBO’s “Def Comedy Jam” (which, years later, he would go on to host). During a performance at LA’s Comedy Store, Epps caught the attention of Ice Cube. This led to the first of three feature films they would do together: the cult hits “Next Friday,” "Friday after Next," and “All About the Benjamins.”

Other features include the Hangover franchise, Faster, Hancock, Lottery Ticket, Next Day Air, , The Fighting Temptations, the Resident Evil franchise, Bait, How High, Dr. Dolittle 2, Talk to Me, and Guess Who? Epps can be seen in over 40 cities and 3 continents this year on his worldwide “Mike Epps After Dark” Live Nation Tour.