In 1998, Angela Bassett starred opposite Taye Diggs in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. Audiences swooned over the romantic film about a businesswoman who goes on holiday to Jamaica and finds love in the unlikely arms of a younger man. The film’s success established Diggs as an essential up-and-coming actor. However, it was not love at first sight.
Diggs recently discussed the highs and lows of his career on Keke Palmer’s podcast, Baby, This Is Keke Palmer. At the time of casting for How Stella Got Her Groove Back, he played an essential but minor character in the hit 1996 Broadway musical, Rent. As he described, “Angela Bassett went and came to see Rent and she wasn't impressed. She wasn’t impressed.”
Fans of Diggs are likely shocked to hear that Bassett did not look kindly on his performance in the musical. While he has found immense success as an actor outside of Rent, many remember him best for originating the role of antagonistic landlord Benny in the rock musical, which chronicles the lives of struggling East Village bohemians and the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on their community.
Surprisingly, Diggs also did not expect to be noticed based on his performance in the musical. "Rent was that show where everybody was like, 'Okay, well, come see these kids in Rent," he explained to Palmer. "And they were like, 'Okay, well, we have this young man who's auditioning.' 'How can I see him?' Okay, come see the show Rent. And I had the smallest role in Rent of the main characters. So I was like, 'Okay, this isn't going to be. I'm not going to get any jump off of this. I'll just ride it out as hard as I can. And then the next thing, that'll be my jump off."
Even though his agent passed along a message of Bassett’s negative response to his performance, he still managed to nab the role in the upcoming film. He attributes his success to a soap opera, Guiding Light. His character, Sugar Hill, caught her attention. "And she saw a little bit of sexiness in Sugar Hill and then she was like, 'Okay, bring him in,'" he explained.
It’s worth noting that Bassett has also spoken about casting the right actor for the romantic lead in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. At a screening of the film at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival, she revealed that there was tough competition for the role, but Diggs stood out as the actor who could embody a romantic fantasy. So, it sounds like she just needed some assurance that he could be that fantasy and not just a prickly landlord.
Despite any initial reservations from film legends such as Bassett, Diggs proved to be perfect for the role and was able to break into film and television. His diverse career includes Brown Sugar, Chicago, Equilibrium, The Best Man, and Private Practice.
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