ANTHONY RAMOS from In the Heights
In 2O14, when Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop musical hit Hamilton was still a fledgling project, Puerto Rican actor Anthony Ramos, then 22, was three years out of the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. The actor auditioned for the production with the aptly titled My Shot, the headline song – and was successful, originating the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton. Since the musical’s unparalleled success, Ramos, now 28, has transitioned to the screen as Lady Gaga’s best friend in A Star Is Born, a freckle-faced suitor in Spike Lee’s She’s Gotta Have It reboot and as a witness to a police murder in last year’s drama Monsters And Men. In June, he’ll return to his Broadway roots with In the Heights, a movie adaptation of Miranda’s 2OO5 musical. ‘This film changed my life,’ says Ramos, who plays Miranda’s own role: Usnavi, the quick-witted romantic lead. ‘It’s one of the most special things I’ve ever done.’ In 2O19, he also released his debut studio album The Good & The Bad – an R&B paean to familial love.