The key to Taye Diggs’ rapid rise to movie success, and the reason he will undoubtedly be around for some time to come, is his constant desire to surprise.

Whether this is directed at audiences, unsure what to expect from the 28-year-old who has appeared in films such as "How Stella Got Her Groove Back", "Go" and "House on Haunted Hill", or at other cast members is more of a moot point.

"It’s just everyday Taye," he beams with that megawatt smile. "I get a kick out of surprising people, and every now and then I would try to surprise someone. I don’t know why, but I get great pleasure out of startling people."

Critics, too, have noted the versatility of an actor who is determined to stay away from the obvious and the clichéd. His latest role in "The Best Man" demonstrates this beautifully, being one of an increasing number of black American movies that reflect a more genteel, recognisable life far away from the gun-toting, ghetto-bound, and thoroughly false stereotype.

" "The Best Man" was something that painted a more positive picture than a lot of films in the past," he explains, "so I think it was an offer I couldn’t refuse."

He’s a man of impulse, is Scott ‘Taye’ Diggs, as was proved when he took a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live and work at Disney’s theme park in Tokyo. Typically, he threw himself wholeheartedly into the experience.

"I realised that I was a young cat, I hadn’t seen much of the world and I wanted to put some money away. I went over there, did this Caribbean show cabaret, made a ton of dough and learned the language. I continued to study for a while when I got back here, but with this whole film thing I don’t get the time I need or want to carry on with it. But that was a great time." For Taye Diggs, one suspects, the great times are far from over.