Devale Ellis plays Zac, the hot-tempered hottie who generally wants to be a better person despite being bogged down by a lot of drama. However, Ellis is the opposite of his character in real life. Years before entering Tyler Perry’s cinematic universe, Ellis initially tried his hand at the NFL as a wide receiver. He played for the Detroit Lions and for the Cleveland Browns, but football didn’t work out as he was waived by both teams and had to pivot. He settled back in his native New York City with his wife, Khadeen Ellis, where they began documenting their lives as parents on YouTube. Devale always discussed his goal of making it big as an actor, and social media paved the way for him. Ellis had begun appearing in TV shows and small films here and there in supporting roles before landing the role of Zac, his biggest to date, on Sistas, in 2019. Zac started as a supporting character but got so popular that he got more screen time and a spinoff show, Zatima. Now, that is an amazing origin story.

Devale Ellis isn’t the only former football player on Sistas. Enter Chido Nwokocha. Nwokocha, who is from Sacramento, was a wide receiver for Ohio University. After college, he played for the San Jose Sabercats of the Arena Football League, but a knee injury ended his football career and he had to pivot. Nwokocha began pursuing acting and landing small roles on soap operas and other TV shows before becoming a series regular on Sistas as Gary. Gary is Andi’s sinister bad habit that she refuses to break up with. He probably should have been gone by now, but the character and, by extension, the actor adds nice depth and flavor to the show.

There isn’t as much biographical information online about Kevin A. Walton as about the previous two actors. Still, there’s enough to gather that he might be somewhat like Aaron, the character he plays on Sistas. Walton describes himself as a transformation specialist, spiritual advisor, workshop facilitator, activational speaker, actor, musician, poet and more on his social media pages and it’s clear that he is all about positivity and motivation. According to IMDB, some of his earliest acting credits stem from 2008. He also started playing minor roles and supporting roles in short films and TV shows until he landed Sistas, which may be his most popular show to date.