The BET 100 Entertainers And Innovators Of The Year | The Actors

See who superseded our expectations.

BET 100 | The Actors  - With movie theaters, restaurants, and bars shuttered because of the coronavirus pandemic, home entertainment became more important than ever. Our favorite actors and actresses provided a much-needed escape. However, this year, their impact went beyond amazing work on screen. They broke records, pushed for equality, and inspired us to do better. We pay homage to these greats who not only go the extra mile to entertain us, but to also propel us forward.— Written by Laura J. Downey  Plus, don't forget to check back each day this week to find out who else we've added to the BET 100 list...we're just getting started. BET Digital Design/Getty
Michael Rainey Jr. - He’s the kid we love to hate. Rainey, 20, portrayed Tariq St. Patrick in the popular Starz series Power. But when the final season revealed Tariq murdered his nightclub owner, drug-dealing dad Ghost, fans weren’t sure whether to tune into the Power Book II: Ghost sequel, or to boycott it. Surprisingly, when the sequel’s first episode garnered more than 7.5 million views in its first week, Rainey proved to fans he has the prowess, potential, and power to carry his own show, even in the middle of a pandemic. (Photo by Mark Sagliocco/FilmMagic)
Nicco Annan - It’s hard not to love Uncle Clifford, the fabulous and fierce non-binary owner of Pynk – the strip club at the center of Starz’s P-Valley. Annan does a phenomenal job breathing life into this character, a role he has been perfecting since assuming the role in the stage production of Pussy Valley more than a decade ago. As a 6’2” gay Black man in America, he’s a barrier breaker, inspiring fans to be brave and unapologetically themselves. (Photo by Leon Bennett/STA 2020/Getty Images for BET)Cicely Tyson - After immortalizing countless iconic characters —including Rebecca in Sounder, Binta in Roots and the title role in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman — throughout seven decades in the business, Tyson shows no signs of slowing down. In this year alone, at age 95, she was cast in Cherish the Day, an eight-episode OWN anthology series created by Ava DuVernay, was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, and received the Peabody Career Achievement Award for paving the way for women of color in the entertainment industry, and beyond. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

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BET 100 | The Actors  - With movie theaters, restaurants, and bars shuttered because of the coronavirus pandemic, home entertainment became more important than ever. Our favorite actors and actresses provided a much-needed escape. However, this year, their impact went beyond amazing work on screen. They broke records, pushed for equality, and inspired us to do better. We pay homage to these greats who not only go the extra mile to entertain us, but to also propel us forward.— Written by Laura J. Downey  Plus, don't forget to check back each day this week to find out who else we've added to the BET 100 list...we're just getting started. BET Digital Design/Getty

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