Taye Diggs Biography

Taye Diggs
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Taye Diggs
Born Scott L. Diggs
January 2, 1971 (1971-01-02) (age 38)
Occupation Actor
Years active 1994 – present
Spouse(s) Idina Menzel (January 11, 2003 - present)

Scott L. "Taye" Diggs (born January 2, 1971) is an American theatre, film and television actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles in the Broadway musical Rent, the motion picture How Stella Got Her Groove Back, and the television series Private Practice. His nickname, Taye, comes from the playful pronunciation of Scotty as "Scottay".1

Contents

Biography

Early life

Diggs was born in East Harlemcitation needed but grew up in New Brunswick, New Jersey,2 the son of Marcia (née Berry), a teacher and actress, and Jeffries Diggs.3 He was raised in Rochester, New York, where he attended Allendale Columbia School and later transferred to School of the Arts (Rochester, New York). He starred in the first production of "It All Adds Up", an original musical by the piano teacher and legendary musician John Gabriele. 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 Broadway debut was in the ensemble cast of the 1994 Tony Award-winning revival of the musical Carousel.

Career

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 Idina Menzel's character of Kate in Andrew Lippa's off-Broadway production of The Wild Party. Diggs also played The Bandleader in the long-running Broadway revival of Chicago and temporarily filled in for Norbert Leo Butz (an original Rent standby) as the love interest Fiyero of Idina Menzel's Elphaba 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. This movie brought Diggs much acclaim and exposure. The following year he played a tantric sex god in Doug Liman's Go, and an AWOL groom in the coming-of-age drama The Wood. Malcolm D. Lee's The Best Man features Diggs as the eponymous character, an author and best friend of the groom (portrayed by Morris Chestnut). He also starred in the remake of William Castle's The House on Haunted Hill. Taye Diggs was featured in an episode of America's Next Top Model, to help the contestants through an acting challenge. Another notable role of his was when he guest starred on the comedy-drama Ally Mcbeal as a lawyer named Jackson Duper who was the love interest on the chracter Renee Raddick and also the possible love interest on the Ling Woo character.

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 original off-Broadway cast. He also sings on the Rent film soundtrack.

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. 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 portrayed 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 abruptly canceled due to poor ratings. Although his film and television career continue 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.

Diggs co-stars opposite Kate Walsh in Private Practice, the fall 2007 spin-off of Grey's Anatomy.4 Diggs had a guest role on The West Wing as a secret service agent in charge of the security detail for the president's daughter. He then guest-starred on Grey's Anatomy again in the Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice Crossover Event.

Personal life

Diggs married his Rent and Wild Party Broadway co-star Idina Menzel on January 11, 2003 after 7 years of dating. The couple also starred in the Broadway musical Wicked together while Norbert Leo Butz was unavailable. They have a Yorkshire Terrier named Sammy Davis, Jr. and two cats named Ella and Coltrane, whom they call their 'jazz cats'. On December 6, 2004 it was reported by the New York Post that Menzel and Diggs were threatened with harm in a series of letters because of their interracial marriage.5 On September 2, 2009 the couple welcomed a baby boy named Walker Nathaniel Diggs.6

Filmography

Year Film Role Other notes
1998 How Stella Got Her Groove Back Winston Shakespeare
1999 Go Marcus
The Wood Roland
The Best Man Harper Stewart
House on Haunted Hill Eddie Baker
2000 The Way of the Gun Jeffers
2002 New Best Friend Artie Bonner
Just a Kiss Andre
Brown Sugar Andre Romulus 'Dre' Ellis
Equilibrium Andrew Brandt
Chicago The Bandleader
2003 Basic Pike
Malibu's Most Wanted Sean (aka Blood Bath)
2004 Drum Henry Nxumalo
2005 Rent Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III
2007 Slow Burn Jeffrey Sykes
2008 Days of Wrath Steve Lerato
2009 Dead of Night Vampire Vargas
2010 Family Wedding

TV credits

Year Title Role Other notes
2001 Ally McBeal Jackson Duper 10 episodes
2003 Punk'd Himself Episode: 2.05
The West Wing Secret Service Agent Wesley Davis Episodes: "Twenty Five", "Commencement"
2004 America's Next Top Model Himself 1 episode
2004-2005 Kevin Hill Kevin Hill
2006 Cake Hemingway Jones
Will & Grace James Episodes: "Grace Expectations", "The Definition of Marriage", "I Love L. Gay", "Von Trapped"
2006-2007 Day Break Detective Brett Hopper
2007-2009 Grey's Anatomy Dr. Sam Bennett Episodes: "The Other Side of This Life: Part 1/Part 2" (Private Practice backdoor pilot), "Before and After"
2007-present Private Practice Dr. Sam Bennett
2009 The Super Hero Squad Show Black Panther Voice

Awards

Year Award Category Film Result
2000 Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture The Best Man Nominated
2002 Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series Ally McBeal Nominated
2003 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Chicago Won
Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture Brown Sugar Nominated
2005 Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series Kevin Hill Won
2008 Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Private Practice Nominated
2009 Image Awards Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Private Practice Won7
(Source: IMDb.com)

References

  1. ^ http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/reviews/Diggstown---An-afternoon-with-rising-star-Taye-Diggs
  2. ^ Private Practice - Home - ABC.com
  3. ^ Taye Diggs Biography (1972?-)
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ McKinley, Jesse (2004-12-06). "Witch Hunt". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,911452,00.html. Retrieved 2008-02-18. 
  6. ^ Magazine, US (2009-03-31). "Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel Expecting First Child". US Magazine. http://www.usmagazine.com/news/exclusive-taye-diggs-idina-menzel-expecting-a-baby-2009263. Retrieved 2008-02-18. 
  7. ^ http://www.playbill.com/news/article/126288.html

External links

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Private Practice
Episodes
Characters
Cast
Shonda Rhimes · Grey's Anatomy · Official Site