Award-Winning Actor, All American
Taye Diggs: Biography at a Glance
- Taye Diggs is an award-winning actor known for his TV, Broadway, and film roles.
- Diggs can be seen on the TV series All American as "Coach Billy Baker," and in the indie Netflix film, Set It Up.
- He is also a children's book author and a Child Literacy Ambassador with the National Head Start Association.
- Diggs’ film credits include The Best Man, Rent, Chicago, Brown Sugar, The House on Haunted Hill, Go, Drum, Cake, and Malibu’s Most Wanted among others.
- An acclaimed stage actor, Diggs starred in the title role in Broadway’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch, becoming the first African American to play Hedwig in New York.
- His theatre credits include A Soldier’s Play, Wicked, Chicago, The Wild Party, Rent, and Carousel.
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Biography
Taye Diggs is an award-winning actor known for his TV, Broadway, and film roles. He is also a children's book author and a Child Literacy Ambassador with the National Head Start Association. Most recently, Diggs can be seen on the TV series, All American as Coach Billy Baker, and in the indie Netflix film, Set It Up, in which he stars opposite Zoey Deutch and Lucy Liu.
Diggs is also known for his role in the hit FOX drama, Empire, as Angelo Dubois. Prior to Empire, Diggs starred in three seasons of TNT’s Murder in the First, alongside Kathleen Robertson. For his role in the series, Diggs earned a nomination for a 2014 NAACP Image Award in the category of “Outstanding Male Actor in a Drama Series.”
An acclaimed stage actor, Diggs starred in the title role in Broadway’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch (he was the first African American to play Hedwig in New York). His theatre credits: “A Soldier’s Play” (Second Stage Theatre), “Wicked,” “Chicago,” “The Wild Party” (Manhattan Theatre Club), “Rent,” and “Carousel.”
Diggs’ film credits include The Best Man Holiday, Baggage Claim, Rent, Chicago, Brown Sugar, Equilibrium, Basic, The Way of the Gun, The Best Man, Just a Kiss, The House on Haunted Hill, Go, Drum, Cake, and Malibu’s Most Wanted. His television credits include Private Practice (NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor), Rosewood, The Good Wife, Daybreak, UPN (NAACP Image Award for Best Actor – Television), Ally McBeal, Will & Grace, Ed, The West Wing, New York Undercover, and Law and Order.
Diggs released his first children’s book, Chocolate Me which he followed up with Mixed Me, written with a longtime friend and collaborator, Shane Evans. With the success of both books, Diggs signed a deal for more children’s books with MacMillan for a total of 5.
Diggs partnered with the National Head Start Association as their Child Literacy Ambassador and has visited DC with the organization.
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Exploring Your Passions to Expand Your Career
Acclaimed actor Taye Diggs has had a truly expansive career, ranging from the stage to the screen to TV to the page, all in the spirit of curiosity and exploration. In his own words, “I want a chance to show everybody everything. I can dance and I can sing, and I can act.” But how has Diggs kept his enthusiasm and versatility after a career spanning nearly 25 years?
Drawing from his experiences as a man of color navigating three cutthroat worlds — Broadway, Hollywood, and America, Diggs discusses how both his open-mindedness and curiosity have fueled his work and pushed his career further. Taye describes how he has continued to explore new territories, as in Broadway’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch, in which he was the first black actor cast in the title role, or in the original Rent, one of his breakthrough performances. Taye reflects on the sources of his inspiration, such as his childhood experiences as well as those of his own child, a sentiment best described in his children’s books Chocolate Me and Mixed Me.
