Daveed Diggs
Daveed Daniele Diggs[1] (born January 24, 1982)[2] is an American actor, rapper, and singer-songwriter. He is the vocalist of the experimental hip hop group Clipping, and in 2015, he originated the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the musical Hamilton, for which he won a 2016 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical. Along with the main cast of Hamilton, he was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in the same year.
Daveed Diggs
- Actor
- rapper
- singer
- songwriter
- screenwriter
- film producer
2003–present
Emmy Raver-Lampman (2015-present)
1
Vocals
Since leaving Hamilton, he played a recurring role in the television series Black-ish (2016–2018) and co-starred in the films Wonder (2017), Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) and The Little Mermaid (2023). Diggs also wrote, produced, and starred in the 2018 film Blindspotting, which earned him a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead; he acted as creator, writer, and executive producer on the 2021 spin-off sequel television series of the same name, in which he also reprised his role as a guest.[3][4] As of 2020, he stars in the television adaptation of Snowpiercer.[5] In 2021, he received a nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series or Movie for his performance in the Disney+ live stage recording of Hamilton which was released in 2020.
Early life and education[edit]
Diggs was born in Oakland, California, the son of Barbara, a social worker, and Dountes Diggs, a bus driver.[6][7][8] His mother is Jewish, and his father is African-American.[9] His parents named him "Daveed", the Hebrew pronunciation of David. Diggs has said, "'David' means beloved in Hebrew... They spelled it with two Es because my dad liked the look of it."[9] His parents' ethnic and racial identities have contributed to his own self-identification: "The cultures never seemed separate—I had a lot of mixed friends. When I was young, I identified with being Jewish, but I embraced my dad's side too."[10]
Diggs is an alumnus of Berkeley High School and Brown University, where he graduated in 2004 with a bachelor's degree[11] in theatre arts.[12] He was recruited by Brown for his track skills and broke the Brown Bears' school record in the 110-meter hurdles as a sophomore with a time of 14.21 seconds.[13][14] After graduating, he worked as a substitute teacher.[15]
Career[edit]
Theater[edit]
Diggs performed in experimental theater early in his career, most notably when he was on the national tour for Marc Bamuthi Joseph's choreopoem, Word Becomes Flesh, about a nine-month pregnancy through the eyes of a young, single father.[16][17] He also frequently performed in regional Shakespeare productions.
Personal life[edit]
Diggs has one child, a son, with his partner Emmy Raver-Lampman, whom he met in 2015 when they were performing together in Hamilton.[47][48]