Diggs kicks back on ‘Black-ish’
Life after ‘Hamilton’ is filled with free thinking, short workdays and ‘Wonder’
For the first couple of weeks, I kept having to ask if they were sure I was done for the day.
Daveed Diggs, he gets the job done.
Just a few short months after leaving Broadway’s smash hiphopera Hamilton and winning a Tony Award for best featured actor in a musical, the actor/ rapper has lined up roles in Andy Samberg’s film mockumentary
Tour de Pharmacy and next year’s Wonder, with Jacob Tremblay. But first he has a multi-episode arc on ABC’s Black-ish (Wednesdays, 9:30 ET/PT) as the pretentious Johan, who moves in with sister Rainbow (Tracee Ellis Ross) and the Johnson family, beginning with this week’s episode.
Diggs, 34, has been a fan of the Kenya Barris sitcom since its 2014 premiere, he says, because it doesn’t “pull any punches in terms of, ‘How black is too black? What is too touchy of an issue?’ It represents the diversity of the black experience in a way that we don’t get to see very often on television.” He spoke with USA TODAY about his aimless Black-ish character and life after Hamilton: Q How would you describe Johan? A He’s a guy who’s comfortable in his own skin. He’s oblivious to criticism and cares about issues, but he’s maybe not the most informed about them. Q What’s his relationship like with Dre (Anthony Anderson)? A They
find ways to respect each other occasionally, but they’re approaching life from very different places. It’s difficult for them to be in the same house, because Dre is hyper-aware of the influence Johan is having on his kids. They would raise children very differently, if left to their own devices. Q Does he bond with any of the Johnson kids in particular? A Jack (Miles Brown) really looks up to him in an in- teresting way. Diane (Marsai Martin) does not trust him at all. Q Is there one episode or story line you’re most excited for people to see? A I’m excited to have another person in the house on Rainbow’s side. (I) always really identify with Rainbow when I watch the show, because we had similar hippie upbringings. I’m from the Bay Area, so I know a lot about granola. But she’s always the one whose ideas are being brushed aside as crazy, so what’s nice about Johan being there is that it makes the fight a little more even.
Q How does a TV schedule compare with Broadway? A It’s
so easy. For the first couple of weeks, I kept having to ask if they were sure I was done for the day. When you’re used to doing eight shows a week and having to sustain that kind of energy for three hours every night, sometimes it seems like all I’ve done during the day is eaten snacks and then they tell me to go home. Q Have you gone back to see Hamilton yet since you left? AI haven’t. I can’t seem to be in New York for more than 24 hours. I have sat in on some tech rehearsals for the Chicago cast, and that was amazing. Q Would
you consider returning to the show, on Broadway or in another production? AI
don’t know. The real thing about that play that people relate to is the chemistry between all of the people onstage. You really only get that when you have to sit in a room together and build the thing, which I think is so amazing about the Chicago cast. So it would have to be the right situation.