Ariana DeBose CallsHamilton'a Miracle' as She Reflects on How Role in Broadway Hit Changed Her Life 10 Years Later

Mar. 15, 2025

Ariana DeBose at the premiere of ‘Love Hurts’ on Feb. 3, 2025; Ariana DeBose after her last performance of ‘Hamilton’ on July 9, 2016.Photo:Jon Kopaloff/Getty; Walter McBride/WireImage

Jon Kopaloff/Getty; Walter McBride/WireImage

Ariana DeBoseknows more than anyone what a difference a decade makes.

“It’s wild to think about how that show shaped the world around us, but all of our lives,” said DeBose of the Tony Award-winning show. “I can’t believe I now how several statues to my name and opportunities that I never dreamed. It’s a miracle in a way.”

She went on say that she “knew it was special” early on.

“I remember sitting down with a very dear mentor of mine and I told him about the show very early on, and he was like, ‘That’s a terrible idea,' " DeBose joked. “And look at it now!”

“It’s a phenomenon, in the best way,” she added.

DeBose, 34, was a featured member ofHamilton’s ensemble, playing a pivotal part in the musical’s climax. She was in the production’s cast since its Off-Broadway run at the Public Theater in New York City, which opening on Feb. 17, 2015.

Prior to that, DeBose had roles inPippin(2014),Motown: The Musical(2013) as well as 2012’sBring It On: The Musical, her first show on Broadway. She followed upHamiltonwith a supporting role inA Bronx Tale: The Musical(2016) and a leading role as Donna Summer in 2018’sSummer: The Donna Summer Musical, for which she was nominated for a Tony.

Later that year, she won an Oscar for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 remake ofWest Side Story.

Leslie Odom, Jr., Phillipa Soo, Lin.-Manuel Miranda and Ariana DeBose take their final bows in ‘Hamilton’ on Broadway on July 9, 2016.Walter McBride/WireImage

Other roles have included Disney’sWish, the spy comedyArgylle, the comic book adaptationKraven the Hunterand the action comedyLove Hurts —alongsideKe Huy Quan, to whom DeBose famously presented his Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2023. The film is in theaters Friday, Feb. 7.

While making the film, DeBose did all her own stunts.

She also had a hype song — “Ain’t a Maybe,” a tune she recorded that she’s dropping as her first original release on Friday.

“I wasn’t going to release it, but it turned into my hype song throughout the process of making the film,” she told Melvin onToday. “And I’ve never done that, listened to a song that had m own voice on it. But it was empowerment and it’s just like a banger and a bop. So I’m going to give it to the world.”

Ariana DeBose at the ‘Love Hurts’ premiere in Los Angeles on Feb. 3.Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

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Asked if it was the beginning of an album, DeBose said, “It might be.”

“I’m a perfectionist, I got to tinker,” she explained. “But things are coming, things are coming.”

Todayairs weekdays (beginning at 7 a.m. ET) on NBC.Hamiltonis available to stream on Disney+.Tickets for the musicalare on sale now.

source: people.com