Consistency and Relevance collide
The actors ranked between #41 and #60 demonstrated the strongest balance of career longevity, recent work, and evaluated performances. While they fell short of the Top 40, each has assembled a résumé that reflects consistency and staying power.
When we talk about names just outside the top 40 in sports, we’re talking Dwayne Wade’s scoring, Patrick Willis’s sacks, Darren McFadden at Arkansas, and Kevin Garnett’s rebounding. This list encapsulates that for the 2025 performances on film, television, and streaming.
Awards for the Class
Most Active
Rolonda Watts came in with 15 appearances in 2025.
Deepest Career Portfolio
CCH Pounder topped all in this group with nearly 150 acting credits.
Best Overall Balance
Reprising her role as Ghost in The Thunderbolts, Hannah John-Kamen is my all-around performer here.
60. Tasha Smith (📉35)
2025 Projects
- Twinless
- Survival of the Thickness
- Desire: A Temptation Story
Career Depth
60 roles since 1993
Known for Why Did I Get Married?, Couples Retreat, and The Whole Ten Yards
Tasha is one of the most recognized faces over the past two decades. She brings a flair to every project that features her.
59. Sharon D. Clarke (📉43)
2025 Projects
- Castlevania: Nocturne
- National Theatre Live: The Importance of Being Earnest
- Havoc
- Sherlock & Co
- Maddie + Triggs
- Wicked: For Good
- Numberblocks
- Ellis
Career Depth
71 roles since 1986
Known for Rocketman and Tau
I’m unfamiliar with Clarke’s work, yet she ia the lead in the Ellis series.
58. Thandiwe Newton
2025 Project
- Big Mouth
- Wednesday
- Anaconda
Career Depth
52 roles since 1991
Known for The Pursuit of Happyness, Westworld, and Crash
Commanding the screen is the method of Thandiwe’s delivery. Her prime performance for me was as a strong android in Westworld that I hate the series was pulled from platforms.
57. Teyana Taylor
2025 Projects
- All’s Fair
- One Battle After Another
- Escape Room
- Straw
Career Depth
69 roles since 2008
Known for Straw, Scary Movie, and A Thousand and One
Teyana has given that crossover appeal that many artists tend to dip into but with success in her case. Taylor was attached to one of last year’s big hit in One Battle After Another.
56. Adina Porter (📈18)
2025 Projects
- The Copenhagen Test
- Smoke
Career Depth
75 roles since 1992
Known for American Horror Story, True Blood, The 100
Call up Porter when you need a mature Black woman to sell some authority, but she’s not just that if you can recall her role on True Blood.
55. Aziza Scott
2025 Projects
- One of Them Days
Performance Evaluation
Scott outlived the introduction as Big Booty Berniece to become a menace to the plans in One of Them Days. She gave us a respected but unliked woman from start to finish.
Career Depth
10 roles since 2016
Known for One of Them Days, Home Before Dark, and The Fosters
54. Tenaj L. Jackson
2025 Project
- Sinners
Performance Evaluation
Honestly, I’ve jogged my memory for Jackson’s appearance in the film although from reading the summary of Beatrice, I’m vaguely familar with her role. I did not have much of a critique of the film, so I know she filled the shoes of the part nicely.
Career Depth
13 roles since 2011
Known for JAG, American Bred, and Christmas Mail
53. Yolonda Ross
2025 Projects
- The Chi
- Will Trent
- Chicago Med
Career Depth
67 roles since 1997
Known for The Get Down, The Chi, and Antwon Fisher
I’ve caught a couple of Ross’s roles over the years from Antwone Fisher to How to Get Away With Murder. Most notable, she was essential to The Get Down.
52. Chanda Hartman
2025 Projects
- Bosch: Legacy
- Forever
Performance Evaluation
Hartman was in and out of Forewve to the point that I have to rewatch to catch her part. I’ll keep looking for her to catch that break out role.
Career Depth
11 roles since 1999
Known for Bosch: Legacy, No Right Way, and Forever
51. CCH Pounder
2025 Projects
- Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Chicago Med
- The Naked Gun
Career Depth
146 roles since 1970
Known for The Avatar, RoboCop 3, and The Shield
Pounders probably has the deepest resume of the bunch. It’s likely she played part in that 80’s or 90’s movie or TV series you enjoyed back in the day.
50. Lorraine Toussaint (📉42)
2025 Projects
- The Equalizer
- All’s Fair
- Theme Song Takeover
- Disney How NOT to Draw
- Big City Greens
- The Better Sister
Career Depth
125 roles since 1983
Known for Orange is the New Black, Selma, and Any Day Now
Toussaint’s run as the mother to a covert vigilante has come to a close with the wrapping of Equalizer, but she will be back sooner than we can expect.
49 Jayme Lawson
2025 Projects
- Indigo Blue
- Sinners
- The Runing Man
Performance Evaluation
Mrs. Pearline stormed the spotlight in Sinners giving us all the Jayme Lawson we needed. She sang, fought, and forgot she was married for one night in a Delta juke joint surrounded by vampires.
Career Depth
12 roles since 2020
Known for The Woman King, The Running Man, and The Batman
48. Emyri Crutchfield
2025 Projects
- One Spoon of Chocolate
- Forever
Performance Evaluation
Cruchfield has come of age in front of the camera. She was featured in a couple of episodes of Forever telling the story of a young couple’s growing pains in the last days as high school students
Career Depth
12 roles since 205
Known for Roots, Vacation, and One Spoon of Chocolate
47. Sasheer Zamata (📉43)
2025 Projects
- Ghosts
- Long Story Short
- Something Real
- Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
Career Depth
86 roles since 2005
Known for Agatha All Along, Beyonce as a Mommy, and Masters of the Universe
Zamata did her time on SNL but has been in the industry for far longer than her time on the sketch series. She recently turned in a role in the MCU and was caught early in 2026 working on the live action Masters of the Universe. See were she lands next year.
46. Remmie Milner
2025 Project
- Silo
Performance Evaluation
The post-apoclyptic joint needed a rebel with a chip on her shoulder, and Milner nailed her part. Whether she was riling up the citizens or giving the autority of her silo problems, her Shirley was owning her screen time.
Career Depth
16 roles since 2012
Known for His Dark Materials, Save Me, and A Christmas Carol
45. Rolonda Watts (📉34)
2025 Projects
- Survival of the Thickest
- Mind Your Business
- Sherri
Career Depth
74 roles since 1992
Known for JAG, American Bred, and Christmas Mail
Watts is well rounded across the entertainment industry. Lately, I’ve caught her on the run with Sherri even though she’s had some interesting roles.
44. Kash Doll
2025 Projects
- Reasonable Doubt
Performance Evaluation
Kash Doll rolled into dramatic acting by selling the vision of a transactional friend. She got on the stand and started singing like a canary.
12 roles since 2017
Known for Charlie’s Angels, Superfly, and Space Jam: A New Legacy
43. Artrese Johnson (📉31)
2025 Project
- The Inconvenience Store
- Abbott Elementary
Career Depth
29 roles since 2015
Known for Fight Night: The Million Dollar Hiest, A Thousand and One, and P-Valley
If you’re wondering where you’ve seen Johnson, don’t feel bad if it’s from her time as Skrawberry on P-Valley. She’s been working on the rounds on Abbott Elementary.
42. Hannah John-Kamen
2025 Projects
- Safe House
- Thunderbolts*
Performance Evaluation
The MCU pushed their universe along through Thunderbolts* with her carrying the mantle of Ghost to be a loose end tied up by the US Government for some covert ops. She was the cold-blooded thread that kept the crew on mission.
Career Depth
30 roles since 2011
Known for Ant-Man and the Wasp, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City, and Ready Player One
41. Queen Latifah (📉20)
2025 Projects
- The Voice
- The Equalizer
Career Depth
120 roles since 1989
Known for Bringing Down the House, Chicago, and Hairspray
Queen Latifah is a media darling from singing to acting to producing. She’s ended her run on The Equalizer as a former CIA operative doing justice in NYC in some of the most unbelievable of manners.
