Taye Diggs on Nail Polish, Online Dating, and His Transformational Role as Hedwig

Leading man Taye Diggs has a career that spans theater, film, and television. (Photo: Trunk Archive/Coliena Rentmeester)

In 1996, Taye Diggs got his start on Broadway in the original production of Rent. Now 44, he has gone on to star on TV in shows like Private Practice and movies like The Best Man. Broad-shouldered, handsome, and smart, he usually plays the guy that has every woman swooning. This summer, he’s back on Broadway taking on a very different type of role, playing the transgender main character in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Diggs calls the experience “life-changing.” He’s definitely had fun during his 12-week run (which ends Sept. 13), posting backstage videos of the extensive hair and makeup involved to transform him from heartthrob to Hedwig.

Bobbi Brown: Hey Taye, how are you?

Taye Diggs: I’m good, how are you?

So you’re from Newark, I hear?

I was born in Newark.

I’m a Jersey guy too. I’m only a few towns away.

Cool. I hear you.

Taye Diggs as Hedwig at the Belasco Theatre. (Photo: Joan Marcus)

You have this amazing new role in Hedwig where you have to wear pretty intense makeup, wigs, and platform heels — has it made you appreciate all the work that goes into being a woman?

One hundred percent! Especially when I first put on the heels for the first time onstage, with the makeup, the tripping, and my eyes burning, dealing with the wig, and how hot it is. It’s a trip what women choose to do, how they maintain themselves. It’s ridiculous!

Have you learned anything makeupwise since you’ve been playing the part?

No, because the makeup, as far as I’m concerned, it’s not for a novice, it’s elaborate. We have two people doing it at the same time to cut down on time. It takes around 45 minutes or so. But I’ve gotten used to painting my own fingernails, and I find it to be very therapeutic.

Taye Diggs with MAC Cosmetics glitter makeup by Mike Potter. (Photo: Sebastian Mader)

I read that you were the skinny and nerdy kid growing up. You’re definitely not that now. How did you transform your body?

A lot was age and my body type changing, but once I was introduced to physical weight training and exercises, once I knew that I could control what my body looked like, I never looked back. There aren’t many things in life that you can control, and looks, to a certain extent, is one of them. That’s one of the areas where my vanity kind of rules, and it’s really hard to let go of that. So that has found its way into my life on a regular basis.

Do you think you still feel like a skinny kid inside? Sometimes that happens when you make a big change.

Not at all. I don’t want to be that anymore. But you know, once you’ve either lost the weight from being a fat kid or gained the weight from being a skinny kid, you don’t necessarily want to go back.

What about grooming? What’s your routine?

I’m kind of very contradictory in that I’m very concerned and kind of vain about how I look, but I don’t have a very general kind of approach. I’m fairly consistent; for products it’s Kiehl’s. I wash my face often and moisturize, but that’s about it.

Taye Diggs reclining back for the nightly transformation into Hedwig. (Photo: Instagram)

I was looking at your Twitter, and I noticed you are following almost 500,000 people, almost as many as follow you.

I have a social media cat that assists me. I’m not that guy, so I had to get someone to make me. So I don’t follow how many followers, and I only respond when he tells me to. I’m one of these guys, I wouldn’t say that I’m anti-social network, but it doesn’t come naturally to me.

Technology is such a big part of everything now, even dating. The landscape has changed so much since the last time you were single. Would you ever check out a dating site?

[Laughs] Absolutely not! I mean it’s just constant. I shouldn’t say “absolutely not.” You know, never say never, but at this point I have my hands full, and if I don’t have the time to check out any followers I have, I’m not going to have the time to check a profile.

Taye Diggs getting his makeup done backstage. (Photo: Instagram)

Your run in Hedwig ends in September. What’s next for you?

I have a children’s book coming out called Mixed Me! focusing on biracial children. It’s a follow-up to Chocolate Me! the first book I wrote. I’m looking forward to hopefully a third season of Murder in the First on TNT. I am producing a reality TV show based on single urban dads.

That all sounds incredibly cool. Thank you so much for speaking to me. Enjoy your last days as Hedwig.

Definitely. Thanks, Bobbi. Have a great weekend.

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