Movies - TV
Daveed Diggs Almost Quit Hamilton After Hearing Leslie Odom Jr. Sing
By SHANIA RUSSELL
With its hip-hop score, entirely BIPOC main cast, brilliant writing, and spectacular performances, Lin Manuel Miranda’s play about America’s founding fathers “Hamilton” is a masterpiece. The play launched many of its cast and its creator into the stratosphere of celebrity, including Leslie Odom Jr., whose singing was so good he almost scared off his co-star Daveed Diggs.
In an interview, Daveed Diggs revealed that he nearly quit when he first heard Odom Jr. sing as Aaron Burr. Recalling Odom Jr.’s voice, Diggs said, “I was like, ‘That’s something I had never experienced before […] That guy’s voice is not real. His instrument is so finely tuned.’ I remember being like, ‘Oh I probably shouldn’t be here. That’s not right.’”
In fact, Odom Jr. wasn’t originally a member of the main cast, but when Lin Manuel Miranda made the role of Burr more vocally demanding, he knew he had to recast the role and thought Odom Jr. was the right choice. Odom certainly was perfect for the role, and the “Hamilton” star has since starred in films like Rian Johnson’s “Glass Onion.”