Happy Birthday, Larenz Tate!

In the '90s, Larenz Tate was one of the hottest actors in Black Hollywood. His career started in television with small roles on Family Matters , The Royal Family and Oprah Winfrey 's The Women Of Brewster Place . It was his role in 1993's Menace II Society , playing O-Dog, that officially made him a star.

Tate could've easily got lumped in the gangster films of the decade, but he would expand his horizons in films like The Inkwell , Dead Presidents and playing Frankie Lymon in the biopic Why Do Fools Fall In Love , which also included Vivica Fox and Halle Berry .

But, it was his role as Darius Lovehall in 1997's Love Jones that made him a sex symbol. Playing opposite Nia Long , the film captured a time in young Black America where the poetry scene was huge, neo-soul music was about to explode and folks were tiring of the gangster films.

There was talk of a sequel , but Nia Long told BET.com, "I heard that it’s possible there might be a sequel in the works that’s going straight to video with two other actors because I would never do that and Larenz [Tate] wouldn’t either. I think that’s going to be the biggest mistake they could ever make. It’s a cult classic and people love that movie. If you try to serve that up with different actors and a sequel straight to video, you’re going to piss a lot of people off."

Larenz Tate's career has continued to flourish with roles in 2004's Crash and Ray, and he is currently on the FX Network's Rescue Me . Larenz turns 35 today!

Check out the clip below of Larenz and Nia at this year's BET Awards.