Where You've Seen the Empire Cast Before

Howard has been acting on TV and in movies since the early '90s. He had parts in The Best Man, Glitter, and Big Momma's House, but he really broke out in 2005's Hustle & Flow, when he played a pimp struggling to become a rapper. The role earned him an Oscar nod, and "It's Hard Out Here For a Pimp" scored best original song. Since then, he's had a lot of movie parts, like in Iron Man, and he'll show up in Fox's new drama Wayward Pines come May 14.

After a handful of guest roles on TV, Henson also starred in Hustle & Flow. She's gone back and forth between the big and small screens, appearing in the films Four Brothers, I Can Do Bad All by Myself, and Think Like a Man, as well as the series Boston Legal, Eli Stone, and Person of Interest. In 2009, she was nominated for best supporting actress for her role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Fingers crossed Cookie can win her an Emmy!

That's right: Smollett is one of the kids in the 1992 classic The Mighty Ducks. Two years later, he appeared with his very talented family (including sister Jurnee Smollett-Bell) on the TV series On Our Own, and then he turned up in 1994's North. He resurfaced in 2012 in the LGBT-focused film The Skinny and as a guest star on The Mindy Project. You may have also noticed him as Jamie on Revenge last year.

Gray is a rapper in his own right; his moniker is Yazz the Greatest, and he performed at Jay Z's 2013 Made in America Festival and the annual Roots Picnic Festival. Watch his music video for "Homework" to get a taste of his previous tracks, and you can listen to his 2013 song "Respect" on Spotify.

Empire is Gealey's first role in a TV series. However, the Cayman Islands-raised actress does have stage experience. Here she is in 2012, prepping backstage for her role as Mimi in American Theatre Company's Rent in Chicago.

Byers is a classically trained actor, and he's had multiepisode arcs on All My Children and 90210. Empire is his biggest role to date, but you also may have seen him in Selma, playing young activist James Foreman.

Sidibe surged onto the scene in 2009 with the Lee Daniels film Precious. She earned an Oscar nomination and went on to star in movies like Tower Heist. Aside from playing Andrea on The Big C, she's most well-known for American Horror Story. She first shows up on Coven, then again appears on Freak Show.

One of Doubleday's first roles was playing a student in 2002's Catch Me If You Can. After that, she appeared in movies like Waiting... and Accepted, plus TV shows like Hung and the short-lived series Cavemen. Most recently, she appeared on ABC's canceled show Mixology.

Luke should look familiar, because he's been in everything from Antwone Fisher to Captain America: The First Avenger. The best part, though, has to be his role as Sean "Puffy" Combs in the 2009 movie Notorious, about Notorious B.I.G.

If you can believe it, Yoba made his motion picture debut playing Yul Brenner in 1993's Cool Runnings. He has a long résumé that includes the series New York Undercover, Alphas, and a part on Revolution. Here he is giving his teammate a pep talk in a classic scene from Cool Runnings.