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It’s hard for anyone to be cast in the shadows of a sibling who seems to garner more success in almost all aspects.  The same may very well go for actor Clint Howard.  Compared to his brother, acclaimed director and actor Ron Howard, Clint may look like to be on the bitter end as hereditary genes go, but, as he has proven over the years, it’s something that hasn’t stopped him from achieving a well-known and loved status of his own.

Born in April 20, 1959 in Burbank, California, Clinton E. Howard became a child star at the age of three, his debut film being The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. Clint never left Hollywood since.

At first glance, Clint may not posses much as physical features are concerned.  He has a huge round head, big crooked teeth, thick gums, and chilling eyes that seemed to only have a place in horror movies, unlike his brother Ron, whose boy-next-door looks appear to come from the other end of the gene pool.  However, being an apparent outcast in Hollywood wasn’t enough to discourage Clint to be recognized and respected as both a director and actor.

Over his lengthy career in Hollywood, Clint has starred in countless blockbuster movies.  Even if most of his roles were minor ones, Clint has had the chance to work with dozens of Important Hollywood actors and actresses from past and present, as well star in each and every one of Ron Howard’s films.  His filmography would be too long to incorporate in this article.

But what could be behind Clint’s success?  One may see it as a product of his unrelenting passion.  While talking about doing transient roles in horror movies Clint had this to say:  “I do not attempt to orchestrate my career. I let God do that. I like horror movies. To me, they are a very legitimate place for an actor to work. It’s a great arena for me to experiment, to play a range of different funky characters. I like what I’m doing and I hope it shows on the screen. Acting is a great gig. It pays well, I get to meet some nice people and it allows me to play a lot of golf. I’m a real lucky guy.”  Clint also had this to say when it came to hard work:  “People don’t realize that doing a horror movie is hard work. You’re out there all day screaming your lungs out, breathing in toxic make-up fumes, rolling around in the dirt, getting your eyebrows burned off - it’s not like doing a sitcom.”

Aside from Clint’s personal drives, one should also consider how Clint’s audiences have grown to give him support.  In 1998 Clint received the MTV Movie Awards Lifetime Achievement Award.  According to John Norris of MTV, it was due to Clint being awarded that eventually “legitimized the category”, whereas before the Award was merely surrounded by ridicule.  It’s a pleasant thought that Clint’s “inadequate” features may just be the very thing which helped him develop a following.  Audiences and critics alike, at the time, may have been looking for something new aside from the Alpha male actor with dashingly good looks.  They may have found an underdog story behind Clint’s success, by the manner in which he triumphed over the enormous odds stacked against him.

Indeed, Clint Howard has come a long way, and he has done it with traits that others might consider he lacked.  In other words, by his pure talent alone.  It is this dedication to his work that has earned the respect and acknowledgment of audiences the world over.

Eva Jaqueline Longoria was born in 1975 by Mexican-descent parents in Corpus Christi, Texas where she was also raised. Far from the glitz of Hollywood, Eva’s family lived in a farm, and her childhood was mostly spent in a rural environment where resources like magazines and cable television were not easily available. Growing up was not easy for this petite actress; her family constantly battled with financial disabilities, but it didn’t stop her from getting on the path to glory. She focused on her studies and earned a degree in kinesiology. It was during this time when she joined a beauty pageant and won Miss Corpus Christi in 1998 and a talent search that bridged her to Hollywood.

Eva Longoria was instantly spotted by a theatrical agent, and it was in 2000 when she began acting on television as a guest star in Beverly Hills 90210, then another guest appearance in General Hospital followed. Eva made a name in the soap opera scene as Isabella Williams in the daytime hit The Young and the Restless in 2001. Her luscious Latina appeal landed her parts in several made for television films like Senorita Justice as well as The Dead Will Tell.

The greatest Hollywood opportunity that Eva had was taking the role as Gabrielle Solis, a seductive and deceitful wife in ABC’s primetime sensation Desperate Housewives. The role brought her to super stardom. The show was instantly a hit and Eva Longoria became a household name in no time. Her performances won her Emmy Nominations and the Entertainer of the Year ALMA award. Men admired Eva’s exotic sultriness which made her number one in Maxim Magazine’s Hottest Female Stars list for two years. Her versatile look paved her way to more commercial opportunities as she was featured in campaigns for Bebe clothing and Revlon Cosmetics.

Eva Longoria made her big screen debut on the action flick The Sentinel with Kiefer Sutherland and Michael Douglas. She also starred alongside Christian Bale in Harsh Times and her most recent film is the romantic comedy Over Her Dead Body. Eva’s highly publicized relationship with NBA star Tony Parker made the media swoon towards them. As one of Hollywood’s most beautiful couples, their high-profile romance placed them on A-list status in the Hollywood scene. She married Tony Parker in 2007.

Because of Eva’s instant popularity, most people are unaware about the difficulties she had to deal with growing up. Her family wasn’t financially stable until she became a star and the situation made her grounded and humble. Eva Longoria gained fame because once she knew she had extraordinary talent, she didn’t waste any time. Nabbing a Hollywood opportunity was a decision that led her to become a successful actress; and the same thing could happen to anyone who embraces opportunities.

Jessica Marie Alba is one of the most sought after “A-listers” of today.  With her beautiful curves and angelic face, she has caught the interest of audiences’ world wide.  With a glimpse of her past however, we can see that this Hollywood vixen’s claim to fame didn’t simply come overnight.  Evidently she has had her fair share of obstacles along the way.

As a child, Jessica was diagnosed with a number of physical maladies.  She spent most of her days in and out of the hospital, and so never really had the chance to fit in with her fellow schoolmates.  Reportedly, she came down with a case of pneumonia four to five times a year, had her lungs collapsed twice, suffered from a ruptured appendix, and developed a cyst in her tonsils.  By the time she entered high school Jessica also started to show symptoms of OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).  It wasn’t until at sixteen, as she and her family moved to Southern California, when she made a complete recovery.

It’s said that Jessica had caught the acting bug when she was at the tender age of five.  More than likely, due to her constant illnesses she was unable to pursue her acting dreams until later on in her life.  When she turned twelve, however, Jessica was finally able to take her first acting lesson, and in just nine months she was cast in her first small role.

In 1993 Jessica was hired for two weeks as an extra for the feature film Camp Nowhere. It was only out of sheer luck, or maybe destiny, when one of the main actresses suddenly dropped out leaving Jessica fit for the role and thus extending her contract from two weeks to two months.

After Jessica finished with her first feature film she slowly but surely went up the acting ladder starting with television commercials.  In 1994 she appeared in two nationwide commercials, both for Nintendo and J.C. Penny. A year later she decided to move up a notch and went into television shows.  She starred in three episodes in the family series The Secret World of Alex Mack for Nickelodeon.  In 1995 she played the role of Maya for the first two seasons of Flipper. It proved to be one of her most challenging roles at present since a great deal of physical activity was required.  Luckily, being raised by a lifeguard mother, and being a certified PADI scuba diver, proved to be beneficial.  Not only were Jessica’s early swimming lessons put to good use, playing Maya also gave Jessica a chance to show her skills in the water, a chance that she would also have later on while doing the movie Into the Blue. After Flipper Jessica got the chance to briefly appear on more mature television shows such as Chicago Hope and Beverly Hills 90210, both in 1998.  She also made an appearance on an episode of Love Boat: The Next Wave prior to filming P.U.N.K.S. which was released on video in 1999.

By the time Jessica had earned her bones by committing to small roles on television she was more than ready to move into the Hollywood scene.  1999 proved to be a milestone for the young actress.  She starred alongside Drew Barrymore in the romantic comedy Never Been Kissed, and a few months later got the main female part in the dark teenage comedy, Idle Hands.

She seemed to have turned a lot of heads after the two movies because in 2000 she was cast to star in her own television series, Dark Angel.  Even though the show only lasted for two seasons Jessica’s looks and talent were already becoming well known.  It wasn’t long after when movie projects started rolling in.  And soon, Jessica found herself playing main roles in blockbuster hits such as both Fantastic Four movies and The Eye.

Seeing Jessica Alba’s rise to fame only goes to show that success comes with a little hard work.  All we have to do is take it one step at a time.

Actor/Comedian Arthur Holcomb has appeared in a number of commercials that has been shown throughout the country.  From promoting car insurance, low fat foods, to hardware stores, chances are you’ve seen him once or twice while watching the boob tube.  Though, like for most of us, success didn’t just come to Arthur handed in a silver platter. “I thought that I was gonna go crazy looking for other jobs so that I’ll have enough money to buy food!” says Arthur when recalling his not so distant past.

A little over a year ago, Arthur had regular and sometimes not so regular gigs at comedy bars throughout San Diego.  “I was working for almost nothing,” said Arthur.  His days, or should we say nights, consisted of him rushing to one place after another trying desperately to catch a certain call time.  On most days, he would have two gigs at two different bars, each at the opposite end of the city and would only have a few minutes in between each.  “I was just as busy during the day time.  Of course I constantly had to come up with new material!”

How exactly did you get into doing commercials?

That’s actually a good story.  I had a friend who I always used to make fun of because he was an avid subscriber to Hollywood Opportunities.  I always said that he was a hopeless case for actually spending money on that stuff.  He was a theater actor, or I guess thespian would be the politically correct term.  He told me that he found regular gigs online because of it.  We were out drinking, on one of the few nights when I wasn’t working, when I took a bet with him.  He knew my financial situation then, so he suggested that I sign up and become a member.  Fat chance, I told him! The only way that I was going to spend money, which I couldn’t afford, on a website was when monkeys would tear another hole on my behind.  So he made a bet with me.  He was going to pay for my membership, and if I didn’t get a chance to earn a little extra in a month then he would watch each and every one of my stand ups until I retired.  But that wasn’t the entire bet.

What’s the rest of it?

If he wins, and I do get a chance to earn more money, then he’ll have the benefit of seeing me swallow my pride.  Not only that, but he also said that he didn’t even have to ask for his money back, because he knew that I would end up owing him a favor.

Sounds complicated.

Well, all thespians are I guess, or at least some of them try to be! (laughs).

So who won in the bet?

Well, I guess it’s pretty clear that he did! (laughs some more).  I stuck it out doing my regular gigs, and after a couple of weeks I got a phone call from a casting agent who wanted me for a screen test before shooting a commercial.  I seriously thought it was my friend pulling a fast one on me.  I decided to play along for a minute, acting interested.  The guy on the phone was giving the address and the time, which I wasn’t writing down.  I was about to hang up, to think of another way to get back at him, but, thankfully, right before I was going to tell the “casting agent” to take a hike someone knocked on my door.  I found my friend, the thespian, at my front door.  I panicked!  Luckily, I was able to get the casting agent, who turned out to be real, to repeat what he told me before.  I told my friend what had just happened after I hung up the phone.  I told him I could almost kiss him for showing up just in time.

It seems like you ended up owing him two favors then.

I did, but he’s a pretty reasonable guy.  All he wanted was a free round of drinks each time we’d go out.  I told him that I’d be more than happy to buy him a keg every night, since it was because of him that I can now afford more than a six pack.

So how is everything going so far?

Everything’s going great!  I have a couple of more projects lined up.  And what’s really amazing is even if I’m doing more stuff now, I have more free time than I did when I was just doing comedy.  It’s kind of weird that way, but I guess it only goes to show that sometimes you just have to take a chance.

Lonnie Rashid Lynn Jr., popularly known as Common, or a.k.a. Common Sense has gone a long way since his 1992 debut rap album, Can I Borrow a Dollar? After years of hard work and committing to right opportunities, Common’s not borrowing any more dollars from anyone.

Born and raised in Chicago, Common was already into music at a young age. He formed a rap trio during his high school years called C.D.R. and opened for various hip hop acts such as Big Daddy Kane. While juggling studies and a struggling music career, Common worked for the Chicago Bulls as an assistant trainer and went to college where he majored in Business Administration. Realizing that his dreams of becoming a rap superstar seemed light years away from the corporate path of studying business, he dropped out.

Common probably owes his success to a friend, who passed his demo tape to The Source Magazine, a monthly magazine that features hip-hop music and culture. The magazine featured him on the Unsigned Hype section and after a short while, opportunities arose as he released his first single Take It EZ under the name Common Sense. In 1994, his second album Resurrection was released and became a huge hit, especially in the Chicago area. He quickly gained respect from aspiring and underground rappers wherever his record was played. His third album One Day it’ll All Make Sense took some time to finish, it wasn’t out until 1997. But the wait for this album was definitely worth it, having collaborations with The Fugees’ Lauryn Hill and equally talented rapper Q-Tip among others. Album sales grew higher every week, and it’s only the beginning of Common’s success. Still under the name Common Sense in 2000, he released his fourth studio album Like Water for Chocolate which became the pinnacle album for his astounding career. He followed with four other records, including an electronic-inspired album and Finding Forever, his most famous yet. The critics loved his unique beats and straight up lyrics. In the rap music industry, it’s all about how rappers deliver and present themselves in a distinct way, and Common has definitely offered versatility in sound and words. He won his first Grammy Award for Love of my Life, his duet with ex-girlfriend Erykah Badu. Common now has 11 Grammy awards to date. He has also walked away with awards from MTV-VMAs (Video Music Awards), Soultrain awards and many others. He changed his name from Common Sense to Common, after a conflict with a Jamaican band that had the same name.

Aside from being a famous rapper, Common also had masculine features fit for a movie star, and several acting jobs landed on his lap. His acting debut on the comedy series Girlfriends, and upon seeing his natural acting skills, casting directors quickly tried to get a hold of him. His first major acting role was as a mobster alongside actors Ben Afleck, Jeremy Piven and fellow singer Alicia Keys in the movie Smokin’ Aces which was released in 2007. A few months later, many Hollywood opportunities came, and he chose to appear in the hit 2007 movie American Gangster, a thriller which also featured Russel Crowe and Denzel Washington. He also appears in the film Street Kings, which is currently showing, with Keannu Reeves and Oscar Awardee Forest Whitaker. It was announced that Common will also appear in the much-awaited cinematic adaptation of Wanted, with Hollywood A-listers Morgan Freeman and Angelina Jolie. It is also said that this Chicago-born superstar was chosen to play the role of the Green Lantern for the 2009 film version of the Justice League.

So much has happened in the successful career of Common, but what brought him there was not only his unencumbered talent, but also his willingness to explore new career paths. Aside from these, the most important factor that bridged his success was his determination to never cease a good career opportunity.