Daveed Diggs Biography

Daveed Diggs was born in Oakland, California. Daveed is an alumnus of Berkeley High School and Brown University, where he graduated in 2004 with a bachelor's degree in theatre arts. He was recruited by Brown for his track skills and broke the Brown Bears' school record in the 110-meter hurdles as a sophomore. After graduating, he worked as a substitute teacher.

Daveed built his career in experimental theatre, regional Shakespeare productions, and hip-hop. He toured nationally in Marc Bamuthi Joseph’s Word Becomes Flesh, a choreopoem exploring pregnancy from the perspective of a young single father. At the same time, he was active in the Bay Area music scene as a rapper.

In 2012, Lin-Manuel Miranda invited him to early readings for his musical Hamilton, leading to Daveed originating the roles of Thomas Jefferson and Marquis de Lafayette on Broadway. His acclaimed performance earned him a 2016 Tony Award and Grammy Award.

Off the stage, has appeared on television series including Snowpiercer, The Good Lord Bird, and Black-ish, and co-created the Blindspotting film and television series. Daveed also voiced characters in the animated films Zootopia and The Little Mermaid.

He has a son with his partner Emmy Raver-Lampman, whom he met in 2015 when they were performing together in Hamilton on Broadway.

Filmography:

In the Blink of an Eye (2026)
I Want Your Sex (2026)
Magic Hour (2025)
Couples Weekend (2025)
Nickel Boys (2024)
The Little Mermaid (2023)
Trolls Band Together (2023)
DC League of Super-Pets (2022)
The Starling (2021)
Hamilton (2020)
Soul (2020) (Voice)
Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)
Blindspotting (2018)
Wonder (2017)
Ferdinand (2017)
Zootopia (2016)
Rock Hard: The Rise and Fall of Sexual Detergent (2010)