Where Are They Now?: The Cast Of The Inkwell [PHOTOS]

Morris Chestnut

Photo: WENN

A Hollywood leading man in the making, Chestnut had already wowed audiences in John Singleton‘s powerful hood drama, Boyz ‘N Da Hood. In The Inkwell, he played the local bully/cheating lothario, Harold Lee, who is philandering behind the back of the beautiful A.J. Johnson. Since then, he’s gone on to star in mainstream actioners (Kick-Ass 2, horror (The Cave) and, of course his forte, romantic comedy, as Lance in 2013’s The Best Man Holiday.

Vanessa Bell Calloway

Photo: WENN

Already a Hollywood veteran by the time The Inkwell hit the screens, Vanessa Bell was best known for her stint in Eddie Murphy‘s Coming to America. The Cleveland, Ohio born-and-bred actress played Larenz Tate’s mom in the coming-of-age comedy, but has not slowed up since producing her own work (In the Company of Friends) and starring in CBS’s action-drama, NCIS.

Jada Pinkett-Smith

Photo: WENN

The former star of A Different World had begun to make her impact as a thespian threat in such movies as Jason’s Lyric and Menace II Society. In The Inkwell, she played the love objective of Larenz Tate’s character Drew, and was all-around snooty to boot. The scene where she plays Drew for another guy is a moment no man wants to ever really experience. Since then, Jada Pinkett-Smith has become one of the top drawing leading ladies on the big screen and television, leading a cast in TNT’s Hawthrone and will next be seen as Fish Mooney in Fox’s Gotham.

Larenz Tate

Photo: WENN

Fresh from scaring half of America as the notorious O-Dog in Menace II Society, Tate showed his range by playing the shy, emotionally stunted Drew Tate in The Inkwell. The youngest of three brothers in real life, Tate and his cohort Duane Martin managed to put together a great batch of chemistry on screen. While the film didn’t do numbers as expected, Tate has continued to build an impressive resume of work with roles in historical biopics (Why Do Fools Fall in Love?!), television (House Of Lies), and has signed on for an untitled Akon project.

Joe Morton

Photo: WENN

To the naked eye, it would seem that actor Joe Morton is going through a renaissance phase as the terrifyingly villainous Rowan Pope on ABC’s Scandal. But he’s steady worked and had a starring role on NBC’s Law & Order while playing the military-minded, Black Panther father, Kenny Tate, in The Inkwell. With the season over on Shonda Rhimes‘ popular salacious show, Morton can be found with his wife Nora Chavooshian somewhere in New York City.

Glynn Thurman

Photo: WENN

A popular actor in the mid-to-late 70’s, Thurman’s adulthood roles were spent bringing people to attention as the Colonel Bradford Taylor on A Different World. During that time, he also stepped in to Matty Rich’s coming-of-age tale to play the cantankerous Black Republican, Spencer Phillips. Since then, he enshrined himself to pop culture fans around the world when he played Baltimore’s shady Mayor Clarence Royce in HBO’s The Wire. He’ll next be seen as Isaac in the movie Dakota’s Summer

Duane Martin

Photo: WENN

Another young, up-and-coming talent in Hollywood, Martin had impressed studios with his role as Vidal Thomas in the TV series Up All Night. In The Inkwell, he played Drew’s lust-hungry, street veteran cousin of Martha’s Vineyard, Jr. Phillips. He tried to help Drew get out of his shell and never turned his back on him during his time of need. Since then, Martin has had a successful career as an actor, writer, director and producer, and can be found starring next to Kevin Hart on BET’s Real Husbands of Hollywood.

Suzzanne Douglas

Photo: IMDB

Seemingly spiritually connected to the role as Drew’s free-spirited mother, Brenda Tate, Douglas embodied the role dutifully. Her ability to get deep into the character was one of the traits she has refined into an award-winning talent. Since then, she has taken to the theater stage and performed alongside Sting (The Threepenny Opera), and was featured in a 2011 episode of TBS’s Are We There Yet?.

A.J. Johnson

Photo: Instagram

The always smoking hot A.J. Johnson had the hood checking for her way before Baby Boy. As the too cool for school, boogaloo beauty, Sharane, in House Party, she danced into our world. But, in The Inkwell, she was equally fine as the next-door neighbor, Heather Lee, who wasn’t getting any love from her husband (played by Morris Chestnut). Since then, she has turned her considerable advice into a profession as a life coach. She attempted to help R&B legends, K-Ci and Jojo, onto the road of recovery in 2010’s K-Ci and Jojo: Come Clean miniseries.

Mary Alice

Photo: WENN

Having been in the moving pictures business since The Education of Sonny Carson, Mary Alice has been a force within Hollywood. However you might want to slice it, she has been a part of television and cinematic history with memorable roles on A Different World and Malcolm X. Her role in The Inkwell was as the ear to Drew’s concerns while spending time at Martha’s Vineyard. Since then, the venerable actress has not acted in the past decade, but was last seen in everything from sci-fi fodder (The Matrix) to prison TV (OZ).

What were you most fondest memories from The Inkwell? Let us know in the comments below.