The cast of “Hamilton” gathered at “Zoom where it happens” for a Screen Actors Guild Q&A Saturday afternoon, their first stop on the awards circuit.
Tony Award winners Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry and Leslie Odom Jr. joined Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Okieriete Onaodowan, Phillipa Soo and director Thomas Kail.
Originally released in 2015 on Broadway, the hip-hop-infused musical about founder Alexander Hamilton was an instant smash for Disney Plus when it was released on the platform in July.
This was the first time the cast had come together since the virtual Georgia fundraiser in early December. After recalling their auditions for the hit, Kail talks about capturing the essence of the story and knowing that his job “was very clear … to honor and capture what we’ve been doing for the last few years.” The film was shot during three performances on June 26-28, 2016.
Miranda and Odom’s chemistry is palpable on screen. “One of the secrets to relationship success is that we’re wired in different ways,” says Miranda. “I think he has a resting heart rate of 6, and I’m a very hard-working guy. We’re friends and we love each other. It works.”
“I’m not a fan of myself, but I can look back and be proud of that accomplishment,” Odom says. “So much of the performance I owe to Lin. Not just in words he gave me, but his eyes and his soul. He’s the other half of it. Tommy (Kail) has let us see that.”
In portraying the Schuyler sisters, three very prominent women, Goldsberry, Cephas Jones and Soo, had a strong bond. For the next generation of girls coming up in the field of film and theater, Soo says, “Join us, we’re waiting for you to be the next filmmaker, the next screenwriter, the more voices, the better.” Goldsberry, who was celebrating her birthday, offers some good advice: “Don’t say no to yourself. You have to show up.” She adds about the importance of allies in the arts, “Don’t let the world lie to you and tell you that you’re competing with your sisters.” Jones says, “Dream as big as you can. Your fear will always be there, but it’s learning to work through your fear, so it doesn’t stop you from doing what you want to do.”
By the time they shot the movie, Groff had left the production to film Netflix’s “Mindhunter” with David Fincher. It didn’t quite register with him that he was reprising his role for a movie camera. “I just lived by what I learned from Lin and the company,” he says. “You can be as big or as small as you want (on stage). You are just free to fly. Even when I saw it, I didn’t think it would look like that to Good.”
Diggs passionately shares being in love with the entire cast and having fun with his many roles as the Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson. There is a scene where Jefferson walks past Aaron Burr (Odom Jr.), carrying a pamphlet. Every night, Diggs would try to take it out of Odom’s hands, and he could do it every third or fourth night. The footage captures one of the rare moments that received a text message to Kail “thanking him.” Diggs scouted his upcoming TV series “Blindspotting,” which will also star Cephas Jones.
Jackson, who plays George Washington, the most iconic and recognizable historical figure in history, discusses making the role his own and the musicality, saying, “It was a huge responsibility to sing notes that the composer knows you can sing.”
Onaodowan, who adorably goes by “Oak,” fell in love with the show after seeing the workshop production at Vassar College. He also plays dual roles throughout the film (Hercules Mulligan and James Madison), saying, “I wanted to make them distinct. It was a challenge to embody two different people and keep my voice flexible. It forced me to stay on the shit.”
The event was attended by members of the SAG Nominating Committee with invitations also to other voting groups, including the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which holds the annual Golden Globes each year.
“Hamilton” is currently streaming on Disney Plus.
