Throughout cinema history, there have been some iconic nude scenes that have transcended the bounds of the films in which they appeared. Our weekly column Anatomy of a Scene's Manatomy will take an in-depth look at these scenes, their history, their deeper meanings, and their legacy. This Black History Month, we're saluting great nude scenes featuring actors of color, starting with Taye Diggs' star making turn in How Stella Got Her Groove Back!
When the musical Rent moved to Broadway in 1996, the show's stars were all looked upon as the big superstars of the next generation. Over time, of course, their stars all began to fade, and though they could all dine out on Rent for the rest of their lives, they didn't take over in the way many at the time thought they would. Many of the shows stars have gone on to great careers, with Jesse L. Martin and Anthony Rapp working steadily in theater and television, while Adam Pascal, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Daphne Rubin-Vega, and Fredi Walker all maintaining careers after Rent.
Some 25 years later, however, it has become clear that the show really only launched two superstars who, ironically enough, were married for many years: Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs. Although he played the quasi-villain of Rent, Benjamin Coffin III, Diggs wasn't bogged down by casting in similar roles. In fact, most every role he played post-Rent seemed to capitalize on his natural likability as a person. In fact, he landed his first offer to star in a film while he was still performing in Rent.
Early in 1997, Diggs was offered the role of Winston Shakespeare, the younger man who helps the title character achieve her titular goal in Terry McMillan's semi-autobiographical novel How Stella Got Her Groove Back. When he received notice that he had gotten the role, he stripped completely naked and ran around the Nederlander Theatre where Rent was performed, presumably in preparation for his nude scene in the film! Angela Bassett stars as Angela, a 40-year old single mom and executive in need of some time away, so her friend Delilah (Whoopi Goldberg) books an exclusive Jamaican vacation for the pair.
Once they arrive in Jamaica, Stella meets Winston (Diggs) a charming man 20 years her junior—though Diggs was only 13 years younger than Bassett in real life—and allows herself to be swept off her feet by this dashing young man. In real life, McMillan married the man Diggs' character is based on, though the film ends before there's any sort of major resolution of that nature. While the film wasn't a blockbuster, it connected with audiences enough to make Diggs a bonafide superstar and sex symbol in the bargain, thanks in no small part to his nude shower scene, which is alight with passion...
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Diggs' movie career took off, with leading roles in films like The Wood, The Best Man, and Brown Sugar following hot on Stella's heels, along with a featured role in 2002's Best Picture winner Chicago. He also went back to the stage several times, including being the last actor to follow Neil Patrick Harris in the title role of Hedwig and the Angry Inch on Broadway. Most recently, Diggs has been headlining the high school football drama All-American since 2018, creating a whole new generation of fans along the way.
From 2003 until 2013, Diggs was married to Rent co-star Idina Menzel, making them something of a Broadway/Hollywood power couple. Menzel obviously hit pay dirt with Frozen shortly after their marriage dissolved, but it's hard to argue they aren't the two biggest stars birthed from Rent. For the first time in a long time, it's safe to say that Hollywood was smart not to cast a younger actor as Winston Shakespeare, because just think of all the Taye Diggs roles we'd have been cheated out of had they stuck to the script.
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Catch up with ALL of our other editions of Anatomy of a Scene's Manatomy...
Oliver Reed and Alan Bates in Women in Love | Ewan McGregor in Velvet Goldmine| A Pair of Stars are Born in Y Tu Mamá También| Jack Reynor in Midsommar | Harvey Keitel in Bad Lieutenant | Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises | Michael Fassbender in Shame | Kevin Bacon in Wild Things | Jason Segel in Forgetting Sarah Marshall | Jaye Davidson in The Crying Game | David Bowie and Rip Torn in The Man Who Fell to Earth | Al Pacino in Cruising | John Cameron Mitchell in Hedwig and the Angry Inch | Ross Lynch in My Friend Dahmer | Rocketman vs. Bohemian Rhapsody | Bruce Willis in Color of Night | Robert De Niro and Gerard Depardieu in Bertolucci's 1900 | Mark Rylance in Intimacy | Louis Garrel in Godard Mon Amour | Tom Hardy in Bronson | Henry, June, and the NC-17 Rating | The Gay Cowboys of Brokeback Mountain | Eddie Redmayne in Danish Girl | Tom Cruise in All the Right Moves | Willem Dafoe in Antichrist | Christopher Atkins in The Blue Lagoon | Sylvester Stallone in The Italian Stallion | 9 Songs Combines Real Music with Real Sex | The Naked Men of A Room with a View | John Cameron Mitchell's Shortbus | Ben Affleck's Abnormally Smooth Dick in Gone Girl | Joseph Gordon-Levitt inMysterious Skin | Will Smith in Six Degrees of Separation | Richard Gere in American Gigolo | Ralph Fiennes and Matthias Schoenaerts in A Bigger Splash | The Naked Gay Men of Love! Valour! Compassion! | Jude Law in The Talented Mr. Ripley | David Naughton in An American Werewolf in London | Cillian Murphy in 28 Days Later | Malcolm McDowell in Cat People | Kevin Bacon in Hollow Man | Chris Evans in Not Another Teen Movie | Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix in My Own Private Idaho | Michael Pitt and Louis Garrel in The Dreamers | Anthony Mackie in She Hate Me | Nicholas Hoult in A Single Man | Chris Pine in Outlaw King | Keanu Reeves in Henry's Crime | Daniel Radcliffe in Kill Your Darlings |
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