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Taye Diggs Profile |
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Birth Date: January 2, 1971
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Birth Place: New Jersey, USA
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Birth Name: Scott Diggs
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Height: 5'10"
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Biography |
Taye Diggs (born Scott Diggs on January 2, 1971 in
Rochester, New York[1]) is an American theatre, film and
television actor.
Diggs married his Rent costar, Broadway star Idina Menzel on
January 11, 2003. They have a pet dog named Sammy Davis, Jr.
and two cats named Ella and Coltrane.
In 2003, Diggs was on Punk'd after being tricked by Ashton
Kutcher, while getting a "check-up" at a Punk'd-operated
doctor's office.
Diggs hails from Brooklyn, New York and was raised in
Rochester, New York. In Rochester he attended The School of
The Arts. He is the oldest of five children; he has two
brothers and two sisters. Diggs received a Bachelor of Fine
Arts degree in musical theater from Syracuse University. He
performed many times at the popular Lakes Region Summer
Theatre in Meredith, New Hampshire. Diggs's debut was in the
ensemble cast of the five-time Tony Award-winning musical
Carousel.
In 1996, he got his big break, originating the role of the
nasty landlord Benny in Jonathan Larson's Tony Award- and
Pulitzer Prize-winning Rent. After Rent he appeared as Mr.
Black alongside Menzel's Kate in Andrew Lippa's off-Broadway
production of The Wild Party. Diggs also had a stint as
Billy Flynn in the long-running Broadway revival of Chicago
and temporarily filled in for Norbert Leo Butz (an original
Rent standby) as the love interest of Menzel's character in
Wicked.
Diggs then moved from stage to television, with a role on
the soap opera Guiding Light. In 1998, he made his film
debut in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. The following year
he accepted roles as a tantric sex god in Doug Liman's Go.
Audiences could next see him as an AWOL groom in the
coming-of-age drama The Wood. Malcolm D. Lee's The Best Man
features Diggs as an author and groomsman to Morris
Chestnut's character, the titular best man suffering from
pre-wedding jitters. He also starred in the remake of
William Castle's The House on Haunted Hill.
Diggs portrayed the title character on the short-lived UPN
television series Kevin Hill. He reprised the role of Benny
for the 2005 Rent film. Diggs is featured on the following
cast recordings: Carousel 1994 revival cast; Rent 1996
original Broadway cast; The Wild Party (Lippa version)
original off-Broadway cast. He also sings on the Rent film
soundtrack.
In early 2006, Diggs guest-starred for several episodes as
Will Truman's love interest, James, on the final season of
Will & Grace. In May, ABC picked up his pilot, Day Break, in
which he plays a detective trapped in the same day and
forced to relive it to clear his name of murder; the show
debuted in mid-November 2006, but was cancelled a month
later. And although his film and television career continues
to move forward, he still returns to the stage frequently.
Most recently he was seen alongside James McDaniel in
Charles Fuller's A Soldier's Play at Second Stage Theatre in
New York. |
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Other Information |
Graduated from Syracuse University with a BFA in musical
theater
Portrayed Benny, the evil landlord in the Tony Award winning
stage production of "Rent"
As of April, 2002 Taye is engaged to Broadway actress and
singer Idina Menzel.
Was called "Scottaye" by friends, then shortened his name to
"Taye".
Won the role of Winston Shakespeare in "How Stella Got Her
Groove Back", even though the casting directors were
searching for a tall black man with dreads.
Was a cast member at Tokyo Disneyland before he got the job
in "Rent".
Has two younger brothers and two younger sisters
Appeared on stage with his wife Idina Menzel in the shows:
"Rent", "The Wild Party" and "Wicked".
Married Idina Menzel at the same Jamacian resort that "How
Stella Got Her Groove Back" was filmed.
Shares a birthday with Brandon DeShazer, Cuba Gooding Jr.,
Kate Bosworth, and Dax Shepard. |
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