Where are the original Broadway cast of Hamilton 10 years on? From cheating scandals to casting controversies and A LOT of awards

Daily Mail​

4 hours ago

Hamilton was an immediate hit when it debuted in New York a decade ago - telling the heart-wrenching story of a lesser-known Founding Father of the US.
Since then, Lin Manuel Miranda's beloved musical has travelled the world, with performances on London 's West End, in the heart of Puerto Rico and throughout Australia.
But for the first time in years, the original Broadway cast of the musical reunited on Sunday night for a performance at the Tony Awards.
Much to the delight of musical theatre fans - and the audience - the company performed 'Non-Stop' from Hamilton, mashed with 'My Shot', 'The Schuyler Sisters', 'Guns and Ships', 'You'll Be Back', 'Yorktown' and 'The Room Where It Happens'.
The cast abandoned their original costumes in favour of a sleeker, black look - with the exception of Jonathan Groff, who kept with his roots in a red jacket as he reprised his role as King George III.
Introducing the performance, Hamilton was described as a musical that changed 'not just Broadway, but how Americans view their own history'.
Many of those on the stage have since become household names, and forged successful careers in film, television and, of course, in musical theatre.
Here, Femail looks at the actors who made the musical - and where they are now.
Lin Manuel Miranda
Perhaps the most notable name on the Hamilton cast list, Lin Manuel Miranda has had an exceptional career so far.
Not only did he compose and star in the musical, but after leaving the show in July 2016, he went on to write the music for a number of beloved Disney animations - Moana and Encanto - and Mary Poppins Returns, which he also starred in.
Lin Manuel Miranda has also had a number of notable roles in front of the camera, in a three-series adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials novels, as the 'aeronaut' Lee Scoresby.
The actor went on to make his directorial debut in 2021 with Tick, Tick... Boom, an adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical of the same name, starring Andrew Garfield and Vanessa Hudgens.
But the Tony Awards wasn't the first time that Lin Manuel Miranda has returned to Hamilton.
In 2019, he reprises his role for three weeks at the Centro de Bellas Artes Luis A. Ferrè Theatre in Puerto Rico.
Outside of his impressive career, Lin Manuel Miranda is now married to his long time partner Vanessa Nadal and is father to two boys - Sebastian and Francisco.
However, he did come under fire in 2016 after a casting call on the Hamilton website asked for specifically 'non-white' performers.
The musical has been celebrated for casting minority actors, but the Actors' Equity Association said at the time that the language of the notice did not comply with their rules.
Hamilton's producers later said they regretted the confusion - and amended the wording.
Jonathan Groff
Jonathan Groff was well known to the theatre world long before he appeared as King George III in Hamilton, having starred as Jesse St. James in Glee from 2010.
He had also voiced Kristoff in Disney smash hit Frozen prior to joining the cast of Hamilton in 2015 - but his appearance on Broadway did nothing but boost his career.
Groff wasn't a stranger to New York's theatres, however, having made his Broadway debut 10 years earlier in the musical In My Life, where he was an understudy.
His breakout role came in 2006, when he originated the lead role of Melchior Gabor in Spring Awakening.
But after Hamilton, Groff strayed even further into the world of film and TV.
He starred in Netflix drama Mindhunter and reprised his role as Kristoff in Frozen II, later appearing briefly alongside Ncuti Gatwa in an episode of Doctor Who.
The actor has also remained a familiar face in New York theatre, starring as Seymour in the 2019 Off-Broadway revival of Little Shop of Horrors.
And in 2024, he won a Tony for his portrayal of Franklin Shepard in Merrily We Roll Along. He was nominated for another this year, for Bobby Darin in Just In Time.
The actor was mired in scandal shortly before Hamilton opened in 2015, after calling out 'that b****' Madonna for bad theatre etiquette while watching the show.
He told Dot429: 'That b**** was on her phone. You couldn't miss it from the stage. It was a black void of the audience in front of us and her face there perfectly lit by the light of her iPhone through three-quarters of the show'.
Leslie Odom Jr.
Leslie Odom Jr. won a Tony Award for his portrayal of Aaron Burr - the man who shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
He has since excelled on the screen, earning Emmy nods in 2020 for his performance in Apple TV+'s Central Park and the filmed version of Hamilton, which was released on Disney+ in 2021.
Odom has also been a frequent face on the silver screen, appearing in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Harriet, and Murder on the Orient Express.
He even grabbed two Oscar nominations in 2020 for One Night in Miami - one for Best Supporting Actor as legendary singer Sam Cooke, and the other for writing the song 'Speak Now'.
Odom later returned to Broadway to appear in Purlie Victorious - which earned him Tony nominations for Best Lead Actor and Best Play Revival in 2023.
But he did face some controversy back in 2021, when he publicly backed 'visionary' Sia's film Music in the wake of heavy criticism over its casting choices.
The film - written by the songstress - followed an autistic teenager who ended up in the care of her half-sister Zu. Sia was criticised for casting Maddie Ziegler in the role, rather than an actor who is on the autistic spectrum.
However, Odom said: 'As an artist, you also know that when you make something, the other half of the conversation is the audience's response. So you hope that people wait to see the work first but sometimes they don't.'
Anthony Ramos
Anthony Ramos had a busy time in Hamilton, appearing simultaneously as John Laurens and Alexander Hamilton's eldest son Phillip.
After leaving the show, he continued to work with Lin Manuel Miranda in In The Heights as Usnavi, and later reprised the role in the 2021 film adaptation.
Since leaving Broadway, he has become a familiar face in a number of major Hollywood blockbusters.
Most recently, Ramos had roles in the 2024 remake of Twisters, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts and A Star Is Born.
The actor also made headlines in 2021 after a very public break-up with his former Hamilton co-star Jasmine Cephas Jones.
Ramos and Jones, who began dating in 2015 after meeting during rehearsals for the original off-Broadway production of Hamilton, were engaged for three years and dated for six before calling it quits on their relationship.
The split came after a viral TikTok video sparked speculation the In The Heights actor visited a strip club with another woman on November 20 of the same year.
Ramos and Jones began dating in 2015 after meeting during rehearsals for the original off-Broadway production of Hamilton
A TikTok account called Dear Jane had set the internet ablaze with a clip that was viewed well over a million times. Dear Jane is a celebrity gossip account that reenacts unverified stories sent in by strangers about run-ins with famous people.
In the clip, a dancer claimed she witnessed two people 'sitting on stage, tipping the dancers and being all over each other.'
She said she recognised the man, Googled him and realised he was engaged to his longtime girlfriend, which wasn't the woman he was with at the nightclub.
The video did not explicitly call out Ramos, but TikTok users were quick to raise his name in the comments section.
Phillipa Soo
Phillipa Soo earned a Tony nomination in 2016 for her portrayal of Eliza Schuyler - the wife of Alexander Hamilton - in his namesake musical.
She has since had a busy career, originating the titular role of Amélie on Broadway, and starring in The Parisian Woman, as Cinderella in Into the Woods and Guenevere in Camelot.
Soo has also had a number of television roles, appearing on The Bite, Dopesick, and Shining Girls. She later appeared in Ryan Murphy's ABC drama Doctor Odyssey, where she starred as Avery Morgan.
She is married to US actor Steven Pasquale, who is best known for his role as the New York City firefighter Sean Garrity in the TV series Rescue Me.
Christopher Jackson
Christopher Jackson was another Hamilton cast member who was nominated for a Tony, this time for his portrayal of George Washington.
Jackson left the show in November 2016, and has since had a number of TV roles.
The most notable include Chunk Palmer in Bull and Herbert Wexley in And Just Like That....
The actor also voiced Chief Tui in Disney's Moana - which Lin Manuel Miranda composed - and had small parts in In the Heights and Tick, Tick... Boom.
Jackson also hasn't strayed far away from Broadway, appearing in Freestyle Love Supreme - an improvisational hip-hop comedy musical group started by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Anthony Veneziale - in 2023.
He is currently performing as Davis in Alicia Keys's musical Hell's Kitchen.
However, his casting as George Washington in Hamilton did raise eyebrows at the time.
Hamilton has widely been criticised for glossing over the Founding Fathers' role in upholding slavery in the US. Jackson was clear that there's no question Washington was a slaveholder - and his portrayal of the character should not be confused with 'the edifying of all of that person's life'.
Jackson met his wife Vanessa in 2004 through an Off-Broadway production of In The Heights, another of Lin Manuel Miranda's musicals.
They have a son, CJ, and a daughter, Jadelyn.
Renée Elise Goldsberry
Renée Elise Goldsberry won a Tony Award for her performance of Angelica Schuyler in Hamilton - and was later nominated for an Emmy when the Disney+ film was released.
After her stint in Hamilton, Goldsberry had a number of notable TV and film roles.
She played the titular role in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in 2017, and starred as Wickie Roy in the Netflix comedy Girls5eva
She played the titular role in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks in 2017, and starred as Wickie Roy in the Netflix comedy Girls5eva.
Goldsberry also appeared in Disney+ show She-Hulk: Attorney at Law and jukebox musical comedy-drama Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist.
She did return to the stage in The Tempest for Shakespeare in the Park in 2023 - and briefly starred in All In: Comedy About Love in 2024.
In her personal life, Goldsberry married New York attorney Alexis Johnson in 2002.
She welcomed their first child, Benjamin, in 2009 - and she and her husband adopted a daughter, Brielle, from Africa in 2014.
Jasmine Cephas Jones
Completing the Schuyler sisters, Jasmine Cephas Jones appeared in the dual role of Peggy Schuyler and Maria Reynolds in the original Broadway cast of Hamilton.
Away from her very public break up with Anthony Ramos in 2021, Jones has had an impressive screen career.
She starred as Ashley in Blindspotting - written by her Hamilton cast mate Daveed Diggs - between 2021 and 2023.
The actress later appeared alongside Jon Bernthal in the 2023 film Origin.
Jones won an Outstanding Actress Emmy in 2020 for her performance in #freeRayShawn, winning the Short Form Comedy or Drama category.
She has also delved into the world of music, releasing her debut album Phoenix in 2024.
It is perhaps no surprise that Jones was destined for the stage, born in London to actor Ron Cephas Jones and British-born jazz singer Kim Lesley in 1989.
Daveed Diggs
Another Tony Award winner in the Hamilton family is Daveed Diggs, who played both Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson.
The actor was later nominated for an Emmy in 2021 when the filmed version was released on Disney+.
After leaving Hamilton, Diggs wrote, produced and starred in the 2018 film Blindspotting alongside his former co-star Jasmine Cephas Jones.
He starred in the Netflix remake of Snowpiercer, the 2017 film Wonder and voiced Sebastian in the live-action reboot of The Little Mermaid
He also created a TV spin-off, which he also appeared in.
But Diggs has had a very busy television and film career since.
He starred in the Netflix remake of Snowpiercer, the 2017 film Wonder and voiced Sebastian in the live-action reboot of The Little Mermaid.
Diggs is married to actress Emmy Raver-Lampman, who rose to fame on Netflix series The Umbrella Academy. The pair met while working on Hamilton, where Raver-Lampman was a member of the ensemble.
The pair confirmed the birth of their first child in 2024.