I know I had my equivalents in Adrian Lester and Lenny James when I was at drama school. I remember David Harewood doing 'Othello' at the National and Adrian Lester having done Cheek by Jowl's famous 'As You Like It and Company' at the Donmar. Not necessarily performances I saw but just the fact they happened was massively encouraging.
All species capable of grasping this fact manage better in the struggle for existence than those which rely upon their own strength alone: the wolf which hunts in a pack has a greater chance of survival than the lion which hunts alone.