Jonathan Groff Recalls Disastrous Hamilton Start: ‘I Had No Character’
Jonathan Groff is best known for his performances on stage in Broadway, and recently opened up on how his role in the hit musical Hamilton was almost a disaster to start.
What did Jonathan Groff say about his time on Hamilton?
Speaking to Amy Poehler while on the Good Hang podcast, Groff — who played King George III in the original Broadway run of Hamilton — revealed that he was a sudden choice for the role, after Brian d’Arcy James, who played the character in the Off-Broadway run of the show, was forced to vacate it, surprisingly.
“Brian d’Arcy James originated that role and then his show Something Rotten got fast-tracked to Broadway unexpectedly while they were in rehearsal for the public theater. And I get a text from [Lin-Manuel Miranda], who I had become friends with through the years being like ‘Hey, Brian has to bail right after opening, will you come in off Broadway and do this for 2 months?”
Groff obviously accepted the role, and then joked that after learning everything, he then began stressing about having to learn a British accent as well as all the other aspects of the role.
“They were like, ‘You have to do a British accent.’ I was like, ‘But what? Everyone’s black. Why do I have to do a British accent,'” joked Groff. “And then I saw it, and I was like ‘Oh, I get it. I’m like the one thing.’ Okay.”
Of course, despite the stress, Groff’s role in the play was praised, as was the entirety of Hamilton. He was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his role, and also received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his role in the live stage recording of the play that released on Disney+ in 2020. Outside of Hamilton, Groff has starred in a number of high-profile musicals, including Just in Time, In My Life, Spring Awakening, and more.
Outside of Broadway, Groff has also been a highly successful actor. He’s starred in projects like Mindhunter, Looking, Glee, Looking: The Movie, and more.
Source: Comingsoon.net