Lance Gross

Lance Darnell Gross (born July 8, 1981) is a American actor, best known for his role as Calvin Payne on theTBS sitcom Tyler Perry's House of Payne, as well as appearing in other Tyler Perry productions such as the Meet The Browns (2008) film and Tyler Perry's Temptations: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor (2013). He also co-starred in 2010's Our Family Wedding alongside Forest Whitaker, Carlos Mencia, America Ferrera and Regina King. --- Gross was born and raised in Oakland, California and graduated from Bonanza High School. He went on to attend Howard University where he turned down the opportunity of becoming a Pro Track & Field athlete to pursue his dream of acting. He received a Bachelor of Arts in theater and then trained at The Ivanna Chubbuck Studio as well as the Tasha Smith Acting Studio. Gross began his career by modelling for Karl Kani and appearing in music videos for artists such as Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, and Mariah Carey. In 2006, he had minor roles in Eve and The Bernie Mac Show. It was while he was performing in the Tasha Smith Acting Studio that he was disovered by Tyler Perry, who happened to be watching a night class. He was consequently cast as Ryan Payne on Perry's new sitcom House of Payne, a role for which he has been awarded four NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.