james earl jones

What does Tyler Perry have to do with science fiction? The playwright / actor / filmmaker has not yet ventured into our beloved genre, but the arrival of his next movie, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, made me think about the loyal audience that he's developed. It's an audience -- African-American, religiously-inclined -- that has been severely under served by Hollywood, and so Perry set out to create material that would connect with that audience.

A sci-fi version of Perry has not yet emerged, and so African-American actors and characters remain rare in science fiction films. The upcoming television season will feature Gabrielle Union in ABC's sci-fi series FlashForward, Ving Rhames will appear in Surrogates with Bruce Willis later this month, and Zoe Saldana will star in James Cameron's Avatar later this year. For now, let's look back at the top 10 African-American sci-fi characters -- including those who are not identified by their race in the film. (Please note: Chris Tucker as the constantly screeching Ruby Rhod in The Fifth Element did not make my list.)

1. Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus in The Matrix
Playing one of the great teachers of the silver screen, Fishburne as Morpheus tries to guide Neo (Keanu Reeves) to the truth, gently yet firmly. He's on an important, urgent mission, but he cannot overplay his hand or he risks losing everything, far more than Neo -- or the viewer -- can initially imagine. How does he do it? Morpheus implores, "Free your mind," and jumps. Neo can only say, "Whoa."

By: Jenni Miller

It wasn't until fairly recently that voice acting in video games was done by either no-name actors trying to pay the bills or B- and C-list actors who were, well, also trying to pay the bills. The Command and Conquer games began employing a mixed bag of actors in its 1999 iteration, Command and Conquer: Tiberian Sun, when they managed to snag Luke Skywalker's big daddy James Earl Jones, but otherwise continued casting random character actors like Udo Kier and Barry Corbin in future games like Command and Conquer: Red Alert 2.

Grand Theft Auto III changed the game, literally, with its roster of recognizable names and voices like Joe Pantoliano, Michael Madsen, Michael Rapaport, Debi Mazar, and Kyle MacLachlan all playing parts in the free-for-all crime cape that make Rockstar Games just that. With GTA III's massive sales and buzz (particularly from angry parents), the scene was set for Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which boasted an over-the-top cast particularly appealing to its target audience: Dennis Hopper, Danny Trejo, Gary Busey, Lee Majors, Debbie Harry, Ray Liotta, Tom Sizemore, and Jenna Jameson, just to name a few.

However, in an interview with Game Informer magazine, Rockstar prez and co-founder Sam Houser later said, "We're not going to put a famous voice in just because it's a famous voice. We're going to get someone who sounds wicked for the character, and if they're not famous it doesn't bother us at all. Because I don't even think that is the talent."

Read the rest at Cinematical