Secrets About Star From Jude Demorest, Benjamin Bratt, Amiyah Scott, and Lee Daniels

Benjamin Bratt actually based his character, Jahil, on Lee Daniels. "The second thing Lee shared with me was this character—for as fucked up as he is and as dysfunctional as he might appear on the page—he’s an extension of [Lee]. He said, 'Jahil Rivera is partly drawn from who I am as a young man when I was a manager in Hollywood.' Lee is nothing if not fascinating—what compels him, what drives him, what motivates him. He’s a bit of a mad scientist, really. It can be frustrating working with him because he’s all over the place, but it’s never less than thrilling."

When Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny, and Brittany O'Grady met Bratt, the first thing they wanted to talk about was Miss Congeniality (Bratt played the colleague and love interest to Sandra Bullock's Gracie Hart in the film). "I remember the first time I met them," Bratt recalls. "They walked into the hair and makeup trailer just to say hi to everyone, and went, ‘Oh, cool! You’re the guy from Miss Congeniality!’ Which, of course, is funny, but an indication of the years of difference between us!"

Ryan Destiny—who plays "Alexandra"—goes by her middle name, Destiny, as her last name. In real life, her last name is Irons. "I just felt like Ryan Destiny sounded better," she says. As for her background, Destiny was born in Detroit, Michigan and lived their her whole life until moving to Atlanta for Star. Her mom is from Detroit, and her dad is from St. Louis.

Brittany O'Grady ("Simone") admits that people are thrown off by her Irish-sounding last name, which is in fact, her real last name.__ "My dad is white, and his last name is O’Grady. My mom is African American, like Creole from New Orleans-type." Because of her mixed race, O'Grady—who was born in Arlington, Virginia—said she had a tough time getting started in the industry. "I was 16, and I was looking for agents. I had an agent in New York tell me that since I looked Hispanic, but I was half black/half white and didn’t speak Spanish that I wouldn’t book anything and that my teeth were too small and I wasn’t skinny enough to model. She said she didn’t want to be a [bitch] and ruin my dreams. I think my mom was more upset than I was because she told my mom all of this, and I remember she sent me on two auditions after that—that woman who said what she said—and the first series I booked was me playing a girl who was Hispanic. So, she was just a little ignorant," O'Grady laughs. "[I'm glad] I didn’t let her get to me because now she doesn’t get any credibility for where I am today. Too bad for her!"