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Joyful would be the best word to describe Daveed Diggs the morning Tony nominations were announced May 3.

The singing actor, nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical for his work in the dual roles of Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson in the megahit Hamilton, says it was his brother and best friend who let him know about his nomination in an unforgettable manner. 鈥淸They] broke into my house wielding a bottle of champagne and putting music really loud," Diggs laughs. "After I got over the shock of having people in my house, I鈥檝e just been smiling real big. I鈥檓 very happy for the success of the show at large. I鈥檓 very proud to be a part of it. I鈥檓 new to this New York theatre community, and I鈥檓 always so inspired by it, so being sort of recognized as a part of it is kind of a really humbling thing."

Diggs鈥� fellow Featured Actor nominees include two Hamilton castmates, Jonathan Groff and Christopher Jackson, as well as Brandon Victor Dixon (Shuffle Along) and Christopher Fitzgerald (Waitress). Noting the great diversity of the season, Diggs says that it鈥檚 been 鈥渢hrilling to be part of this season and part of this show. It means so much to me鈥攖here鈥檚 our show but also a lot of other things that I鈥檝e seen that if I had gotten to see them when I was a kid, the world would have seemed like a much more open place to me.鈥�

When asked the challenge of his roles in the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical, which received a record-breaking 16 nominations, Diggs reveals, 鈥淚t鈥檚 actually not that much of a challenge, you know, it鈥檚 so much fun to do, but the challenge is making it new and fresh every night. Fortunately, everybody onstage is doing that every night, so all you have to do is when you鈥檙e not feeling up to that challenge, you look to your left and you see someone who鈥檚 gonna force you into that. There is no weak link on that stage, so there鈥檚 no chance to slack off. Everybody鈥檚 always bringing their A game all the time.

鈥淭hat challenge has been very easy to accomplish,鈥� Diggs continues. 鈥淚鈥檝e never done a longer run than like six weeks of a show. We鈥檙e so far beyond my sort of comfort level in terms of trying to recreate something in that way, but fortunately I have so much help in that respect.鈥�

Looking back at the juggernaut that is Hamilton, Diggs selects a few standout moments, including a recent student matinee. 鈥淏efore the matinee,鈥� the singing actor explains, 鈥渢here were representatives from all the schools presenting their work and their pieces on our stage, and that I鈥檓 absolutely never gonna forget. I was sick as a dog that day, and I was not going to come in, but I was laying in bed between vomiting, and just something in me was like, 鈥榊ou have to go see those kids! You鈥檝e been looking forward to this for forever!鈥� I went down to the theatre and then watched them, and it was so inspiring I had to do both shows, and I could barely stand before I left [home]. I am for sure never going to forget those kids, who were amazing.

鈥淥ur White House trip鈥攅very part of that from the bus ride down, which was kind of the best party I鈥檝e been to, to actually going there and being welcomed into that home by [the President and First Lady] and then getting to do workshops with kids in the White House. The kind of access they gave us and just how welcoming they were and how what large fans of the show they are鈥擨 was speechless all day, and I鈥檓 still speechless about it.鈥�

There is one other evening that was particularly memorable for Diggs, a longtime fan of the Grammy-winning musician Prince, who threw a party for the Hamilton company about a month prior to his death.

鈥淚鈥檓 never gonna forget that,鈥� Diggs confesses. 鈥淚鈥檝e been trying to see Prince my whole life, and I never got to see him. And then we get an email in the middle of the show saying Prince would like you to come to Avenue after the show, and we all went. I mean, nobody was missing that for the world. It was amazing. That鈥檚 another great thing to be part of something that people who are heroes of yours and you admire want to come and be a part of as well.

鈥淵ou don鈥檛 ever get to say thank you to those people. Prince has informed so much in my life, and I got to see him that night and scream for him at a place that was really small. I got to actually say thank you to a person who has meant so much to me.鈥�