The 10 Reasons Why Boris Kodjoe is a Real Husband

Model. Actor. Not Shemar Moore.

TLC's "Red Light Special" (1995) - Kodjoe made a memorable debut in the sexy music video for TLC's "Red Light Special." The moment when Boris, playing a male stripper, seductively licked T-Boz's toe may have been the most freeze-framed moment of 1995. To this day, the actor and former model remains bashful about the attention he gets for his looks: "It's not something I can control, influence or take credit for," he told us recently. (Photo: Courtesy Laface Records)

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1. He Was in a TLC Music Video - Like many actors and actresses, Kodjoe got his start as video eye candy. After graduating from the prestigious Virginia Commonwealth University (for which he also played tennis and holds a record for victories), Kodjoe took his hard-earned marketing degree and promptly entered modeling and acting. One of his first gigs involved licking the toes of TLC's T-Boz in the video for "Red Light Special." (Photo: Courtesy LaFace Records)

Love and Basketball (2000) - After several years of modeling and semi-professional tennis, Boris got a shot on the big screen in Black rom-com classic Love and Basketball.  His role as Sanaa Lathan's jealousy-inducing love interest was small, but it was enough to kick off a prolific acting career. (Photo: Courtesy 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks) 

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2. He Went to the 'Spring Dance' With Sanaa Lathan... - ...but lost her to Omar Epps in the movie Love & Basketball. He needn't fret. He would have a second chance years later...(continued in next slide) (Photo: Courtesy 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks) 

Brown Sugar (2002) - Kodjoe's second turn on the big screen reunited him with his Love and Basketball co-star Lathan, in a similar but much bigger part. As Lathan's sweet-but-clueless basketball player fiance, Boris got a lot more screen time (lucky for us!) and also enough exposure to land him a spot on People's 50 Most Beautiful list that year.  (Photo: Courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures) 

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3. He Was Engaged to Sanaa Lathan... - ...and lost her to Taye Diggs in the movie Brown Sugar. In an ironic twist, his character is a professional basketball player (which makes for a hilarious YouTube mashup with Love & Basketball) and the character who Taye Diggs breaks up with is played by Nicole Ari Parker, who Kodjoe would later marry in real life.  Kodjoe's second turn on the big screen reunited him with his Love and Basketball co-star Lathan, in a similar but much bigger part. As Lathan's sweet-but-clueless basketball player fiance, Boris got a lot more screen time (lucky for us!) and also enough exposure to land him a spot on People's 50 Most Beautiful list that year.  (Photo: Courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures) 

Boston Public (2003) - Kodjoe played a high school basketball coach in a three-episode arc on the popular drama series. The role put him on screen with some great co-stars, including Chi McBride, Rashida Jones and Loretta Devine. (Photo: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox Television)

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4. He Really Likes Basketball - Kodjoe played a high school basketball coach in a three-episode arc of Boston Public. Sanaa Lathan, however, did not come running back. (Photo: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox Television)

Couple Most Likely to Stay Together Forever: Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari Parker - They were hardly teenagers when they met, but seven years into their marriage, Boris and Nic still feel the puppy love. The absurdly good-looking parents of two frequently make fans melt with their PDA, and Kodjoe secured his place in our fantasies by penning a love poem, entitled "My Seven Year Itch," to his wife on their anniversary this year. (Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

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5. He's Married to Nicole Ari Parker - After the events that transpired in Brown Sugar, it only made sense that the scorned characters that Boris and Nicole played would hook up and get married.Actually the two met when they worked on Soul Food together, and of course know how to turn off the acting switch when the movie ends...(continued in next slide) (Photo: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)

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Soul Food (2000-2004) - In this television adaptation of George Tillman, Jr.'s groundbreaking film, Kodjoe played a character relative close to his own life: a biracial, college-educated man from a conservative family who strikes his own path. Life further imitated art when Kodjoe fell in love with his on-screen love interest, Nicole Ari Parker. Still self-conscious about this English, "Nicole would read my lines to me and I would mimic them back," he revealed. (Photo: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox Television)

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6. He Was on Soul Food - ...but not quite when the TV show does. Kodjoe and Parker played characters who were romantically involved. Art began to imitate life when they began dating. Sanaa Lathan could not be reached for comment. (Photo: Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox Television)

Boris Kodjoe - Boris Kodjoe suits up in a sharp gray jacket, trousers and skinny smoke tie. That smile makes whatever he puts on look so good.  (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images For BET)

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7. He Walked the Red Carpet at BET Awards 2012 - We got BET Awards. We got red carpet. We got Boris. We got you!(Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images For BET)

Resident Evil: Retribution - This September, Kodjoe reprises his role as survivalist Luther West in the latest installment of the Resident Evil franchise. Moviegoers will be able to see Boris — and his biceps — in 3-D and IMAX!   (Photo: Courtesy Constantin Film International)

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8. He's Not Afraid of Zombies - Kodjoe played the part of Luther West in Resident Evil: Afterlife and Resident Evil: Retribution. Though he will not openly admit it, it's understood that his zombie combat training helped prepare him for Kevin's open shots at him.(Photo: Courtesy Constantin Film International)

Undercovers (2010) - Kodjoe got the opportunity every actor dreams of when J.J. Abrams cast him opposite Gugu Mbatha-Raw as a CIA agent with a hidden identity. After the show's untimely cancellation, Kodjoe told BET.com, "Undercovers had the best possible elements to it. You just never know. The sad thing is I worked with people that I love. It’s tough because we were together for a year.” (Photo: Courtesy NBC)

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9. He Was in a J.J. Abrams Production - Although the series Undercovers was canceled, it had Kodjoe play the part of a spy, something he had not done before. (Photo: Courtesy NBC)

Madea's Family Reunion (2006) - For Black actors in Hollywood, having a Tyler Perry film on the resume is a must. Kodjoe joined the Madea family in 2006 as Frankie Henderson, the too-good-to-be-true bus driver who wins Vanessa's (Lisa Arrindell Anderson) heart. While making the film, Kodjoe expanded his own family when he and wife Nicole Ari Parker welcomed their first child, daughter Sophie. Son Nicolas was born eighteen months later. That year, the Kodjoe's moved from LA to Atlanta, "a great place for a young family," Boris said. (Photo: Courtesy Lionsgate)

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10. He Starred in a Tyler Perry Movie - It doesn't get any realer than that. (Photo: Courtesy Lionsgate)