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For any theater performer, it can be hard to see a film adaptation of a project they spent years cultivating and performing weekly. This has been the scenario Hamilton alum Daveed Diggs felt upon the musical arriving on Disney+. Unlike some other Hamilton stars, Diggs still hasn’t made the film appointment television even a year after its release. The Tony Award winner finally broke down why he hasn’t watched the Disney+ version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical.
Daveed Diggs playing both Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson was a major highlight for Hamilton during its heyday. He spent years perfecting those roles so seeing the filmed version may be reductive to him. But there’s more to skipping the theatrical version than not wanting to see himself as those characters again. The Little Mermaid star revealed how his journey with the Tony Award-winning musical fueled his apprehension to watch the Disney+ version.
I have talked about it so much that there is a version of the show in my head that is like a greatest hits of 500-something performances, right? It’s this collage of every time I ever did the show, plus all the workshops plus all the off-Broadway – and also, three people sitting in a room trying out a song for the first time.
Given the actor’s experience with Hamilton, his stance about the Disney+ adaptation seemed understandable. Daveed Diggs was there when Lin-Manuel Miranda birthed the idea, so he saw the show evolve from its early beginnings to becoming a celebrated Broadway hit. As Diggs mentioned, he lived with a version informed by playing two characters over multiple years. So, seeing the film version might ruin the memories cultivated over his time with the hit musical.
Hamilton is currently available to watch on Disney+. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.
But Daveed Diggs wasn’t done breaking down his resistance toward Disney+’s Hamilton. He revealed to The Wrap that he wanted to preserve his version over the film version. The Snowpiercer star explained why it may take him some time before he can finally watch the theatrical version.
All that stuff is part of the Hamilton experience that I’ve been describing publicly for five years now. As soon as I watch the movie, I don’t think my brain is strong enough to handle the fact that things will be different. I think as soon as I watch the movie, that’s going to become the version, and I know for a fact that it is substantially different than the one in my head. So, until I don’t have to talk about it anymore. I’m not going to watch it. Because if I see it, I’m going to look back at every interview I did, like, ‘Oh man, you were lying.’ I just can’t deal with that yet, but at a certain point maybe I will be able to.
Living the experience can be quite different from watching it back at a different time. Daveed Diggs wouldn’t be the first Hamilton alum wanting to leave the show in the past. Despite not seeing the film adaptation, Diggs and the production received multiple Emmy nominations. Hopefully, the actor will finally watch the film version someday to see what all the fuss is about. Diggs as well as Hamilton fans can stream the musical film on Disney+.
