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Lenny Kravitz in The Hunger Games - Kravitz's portrayal of well-tailored stylist Cinna had Hunger Games audiences salivating. As the film's massive opening weekend shows, the rocker hasn't lost an ounce of his cool factor with the young girls of the world.(Photo: Courtesy Lionsgate)

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Amandla Stenberg and actor Dayo Okeniyi in The Hunger Games\r - For these two unknown actors, landing the roles of District 11 members Rue and Thresh, respectively, was better than winning the jackpot. As Entertainment Weekly predicted last year, "the industry will watch two stars born right before their eyes." Now that THG has far surpassed even the greatest expectations, we'll have our eyes peeled for what these two young stars do next.   (Photo: Moses Robinson/Getty Images)

Photo By Moses Robinson/Getty Images

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Nichelle Nichols in Star Trek - Nichols's portrayal of communications officer Lt. Uhura was perfectly timed with the civil rights movement (the series debuted on NBC in 1966). "Black people were marching all over the South. Dr. King was leading people to freedom, and here I was, in the 23rd century, fourth in command of the Enterprise," she said. Nichols fought her way through racism and prejudice — even on set — and broke barriers with the first interracial kiss ever seen on television.  \r(Photo: Courtesy Paramount Televison)

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Edi Gathegi in Twilight\r\r - Gathegi had to deal with some internet haters when he was cast as blood-thirsty vampire Laurent in the Twilight series. "People were upset about an African-American being cast in this mythology because everybody has pale skin," he said. But he managed to prove that an appetite for O-positive transcends race.\r(Photo: Courtesy Summit Entertainment)

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Samuel L. Jackson in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - This genre icon turned in his signature black trench coat for a light saber when he portrayed Jedi master Mace Windu in the Star Wars prequels. Legend has it that Jackson gave director George Lucas one condition before accepting the role: when he died, he would be killed in a "spectacular fashion," not "like some punk."(Photo: Courtesy Lucas Films)

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Billy Dee Williams in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back\r - Williams turned his character, Lando Calrissian, the Rebel Alliance bad boy, from fringe character to fanboy favorite. As the only Black character in the original Star Wars trilogy, Williams brought some much-needed style — thanks to his perfectly-picked mini 'fro — to a galaxy far, far away.\r(Photo: Courtesy Lucas Films)

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Laurence Fishburne and Jada Pinkett-Smith in The Matrix\r\r - They're the power couple of the virtual universe. Fishburne's Morpheus is the biggest threat to the protectors of the Matrix — until his ex Niobi (Pinkett-Smith) shows up. Together, these two rebel fighters were the only things keeping Keanu Reeves's Neo from bursting into zeroes and ones.\r(Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures)

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LeVar Burton and Whoopi Goldberg in Star Trek: The Next Generation\r - His groundbreaking role as Kunta Kinte in Roots made Burton the most recognizable cast member in Star Trek when the series debuted in 1987 — until Whoopi Goldberg came aboard as sympathetic bartender Guinan during season two.\r(Photo: Courtesy Paramount Televison)

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Zoe Saldana and Laz Alonso in Avatar\r\r - Tsu'tey may have been the finest piece of, um, tail in all Pandora, but that wasn't enough to keep his beloved Ney'tiri away from humanoid Jake Sully. Too badbetween their rockin' blue bods and fiery tempers, they would have made one hot couple.\r(Photo: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox)

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Chris Tucker in The Fifth Element - This comedian's role in Luc Besson's sci-fi epic was like a cross between Howard Stern and Lady Gaga. As flamboyant radio host Ruby Rhod, Tucker stole nearly every scene he was in…but not always in a good way.(Photo: Courtesy Columbia Pictures)

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Will Smith in Men in Black\r - Aliens are typical frightening creatures, but leave it to Will Smith to turn an extraterrestrial invasion into a feel-good film. The charming actor, along with his curmudgeon-y partner, Tommy Lee Jones, had us laughing so hard we nearly forget to be scared.\r(Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures)

Photo By Courtesy Warner Bros Pictures

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Louis Gossett Jr. in Enemy Mine\r\r - This man-versus-alien flick has an underlying message of tolerance, as demonstrated when human Dennis Quaid and alien Louis Gossett Jr. put aside their differences and worked together to survive in the hostile environment of a strange, unfamiliar planet.\r(Photo: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox)

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Taimak and Vanity in The Last Dragon\r - Think of this as a 'hood version of The Karate Kid, which came out the year before. Replace Los Angeles with Harlem, Ralph Macchio with real-life black belt Taimak, and Elizabeth Shue with self-proclaimed nasty girl Vanity. Add a killer soundtrack produced by Berry Gordy, and you have a film that achieved cult status before it even left the theater.\r(Photo: Courtesy Tristar Pictures)

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Angela Basset in Strange Days\r - Set in the dystopian future of 1999, and made in the direct aftermath of the deaths of Biggie and Tupac, Strange Days is one of the few fantasy films to explicitly tackle issues of race, class and sex. Bassett, in one of her most celebrated — and underrated — roles, plays Mace, best friend to black marketeer Ralph Fiennes and the voice of conscience in the film.\r(Photo: Courtesy Lightstorm Entertainment)