Redaric Williams and Angell Conwell may play siblings Tyler and Leslie Michaelson on The Young and the Restless, but they sizzled together at the 22th NAACP Image Awards on February 1. Former All My Children star Mario Van Peebles, Y&R’s Tatyana Ali, The Bold and the Beautiful’s Aaron D. Spears and Kristolyn Lloyd joined their primetime and film counterparts on the Shrine Auditorium’s red carpet. See more photos from the 44th NAACP Image Awards after the jump!

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General Hospital newcomer Erik Valdez (Trey) and The Young and the Restless scene stealer Angell Conwell (Leslie) are among the newer faces nominated for NAACP Image Awards this year. Check out all of the nominees for the daytime drama categories below! READ MORE

Shortly after beginning a conversation with Aaron D. Spears you quickly realize why his bio states he's into poetry and spoken word performances. This cat has a lyrical quality to his responses that recalls Larenz Tate's character Darius Lovehall in Love Jones. I recently caught up with The Bold and the Beautiful actor, who is in Atlanta filming the pilot for BET's high profile, hour-long drama series Being Mary Jane.

Spears snagged the series regular role of Marcus Bradley, co-anchor of the titular Mary Jane, a high-powered, cable TV journalist played by Gabrielle Union. We talked about how he reacted when he learned he'd gotten such a plum part in this much-buzzed about vehicle from Mara Brock Akil and Salim Akil (The Game, Jumping The Broom). We also chewed the fat on the current state of Black Hollywood. As Think Like a Man tops the box office for a second week, Spears believes we're experiencing another "renaissance" for filmmakers of color, but this time, will it last?

I also found out how Spears' Bold and Beautiful boss Brad Bell feels about his new gig, as well as what the future holds for Justin Barber, the suave, publishing exec he portrays on the world's most-watched daily serial.

Daytime Confidential: Congratulations on booking a series regular role in BET’s upcoming drama series Being Mary Jane! How did you react when you first learned you’d been cast in the high profile project?

Aaron Spears: You know, in this business you have so many up and down, roller coaster rides; it was satisfying knowing I have a way to provide for my family. That was my initial reaction, the satisfaction of knowing there’s a possibility of me having a weekly check that will substantiate my expenses.

Daytime Confidential: In Being Mary Jane, you play Mark Bradley, the co-anchor of the title character Mary Jane, played by Gabrielle Union. What has it been like working with her?

AS: She’s really cool; really down to earth. She has a great sense of humor. She’s very witty — smart and witty. She has great comebacks. So it was like, cool. You know how you have some women that can be your, like your friend, so to speak? You know? As a guy, you feel as though “Yeah I can hang out with her” and go to different locations and it would all be good. Everything would be fine and kosher. I feel like she has adapted to various locations and circumstances. READ MORE

Congrats to The Bold and the Beautiful's Aaron D. Spears. The actor, who plays Dollar Bill Spencer's (Don Diamont) right hand man, Justin, on the CBS sudser, has been cast opposite Gabrielle Union in BET's upcoming primetime drama series Single Black Female, reports Deadline.

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I've decided to try to be less snarky about The Young and the Restless, and now is as good a time as any to start, I suppose. So kudos to the sudser for dominating the soap categories in nominations for the 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards. The very fact that a soap opera which recently had a black crackhead calling a white woman "Miss Phyllis" is being celebrated for its positve portrayal of people of color...well, that says more than I ever could, really.

 Y&R's Christel Khalil (Lily), Julie Pace Mitchell (Sofia), Tatyana Ali (Roxanne) and Tonya Lee Williams (Olivia) were all nominated for Oustanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series. They will compete against The Bold and the Beautiful's Yvette Freeman, who recurs as Stephanie Forrester's (Susan Flannery) oncologist.
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The Bold and the Beautiful star Aaron Spears (Justin) is counting his blessings these days, among them his nomination for the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. Spears revealed to Soapdom which scenes he submitted for consideration.

Spears was likewise as grateful – if not even more so – for the acknowledgement he'd just received from the NAACP Image Awards for his nomination as Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama. "I really appreciate it," he said when congratulated on the nomination. "I am accepting all praises coming my way.".

The scenes he submitted to the NAACP involved the "Brooke exposure" storyline. "All the computer stuff. Me editing the photos. The web cam, all that good stuff. I submitted that episode," he revealed.

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