Taye Diggs on new Broadway role: High heels give me 'swag'

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

Taye Diggs is back on Broadway, this time starring in the lead role as a transgender rock star in the Tony Award-winning musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch is a rock musical about a fictional rock and roll band, the Angry Inch, fronted by Hedwig (Diggs) — an East German transgender singer.

Diggs is best known as a sex symbol, starring in romantic films like How Stella Got Her Groove Back, The Best Man, and The Wood, and says he wasn’t at all hesitant about playing a transgender woman in Hedwig.

“This is the role of a lifetime,” he said. “When a role like this comes your way, it’s almost a responsibility to accept it.”

The 44-year-old actor has posted several behind-the-scenes photos to Instagram while rehearsing for his new Broadway gig. He’s even revealed a glimpse at the high heels his character wears in the show.

Diggs says he actually doesn’t mind wearing high heels, because it brings out another part of his “swag.”

“If my knees can take it, yeah I stumble around the kitchen,” Diggs said of wearing his performance heels at home.

“It’s challenging. I really give it up to the ladies. I would be lying if said I didn’t like it a little bit. I’ve got a little of that in me. It’s a different kind of swag, and I’m embracing it thankfully, and it will help with the role. It’s fun being a different person.”

Diggs also talked about the important social message about the transgender community that this show embodies.

Diggs will star in Hedwig and the Angry Inch for a limited 12-week engagement starting Wednesday, July 22 at the Belasco Theatre in New York City.

Follow theGrio.com’s Entertainment Editor Chris Witherspoon on Twitter @WitherspoonC.