Curtain Call: 20 Major Stars Who Got Their Start In Theater

By Keyaira Boone ·Updated December 23, 2021

Black actors have been the backbone of Broadway and other theater communities worldwide for generations.

The strips of New York and stages in London that make up some of the world’s most beloved entertainment venues have been home to novice performers who gradually became the familiar faces on our movie theater and television screens. Under the harsh glare of house lights they each learned how to translate the human condition with their characters and connect with the audience to tell joyful, morose, culturally significant and delightfully soapy stories.

Before they were visiting our homes on a weekly basis, helping to make our date nights more exciting, and climbing into the winner’s circle at award shows, these theater actors were ambitious understudies, charismatic members of the chorus, and hopeful production assistants. After laying in wait they each got their shot to bring truth to the words of greats like Richard Welsey, August Wilson, and Lynn Nottage. One performance and review at a time their stage presence and star power grew.

Photo Credit: Clyde’s

An iconic diva was first a school-girl-turned-competent-singer, a former beauty queen seized the spotlight by introducing the world to her talents, and a thespian learned how to jerk our tear ducts performing the work of the man whose words would help her secure a deserved golden statue.

Their career trajectories each bore separate twists and turns but the result was the same. These performers were unforgettable.

See some of the major Black actors who jumpstarted their careers in the theater below.

01Vanessa L. WilliamsWilliams starred in ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’ in 1993.

Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images 02Vanessa L. WilliamsLater she was nominated for a Tony for her appearance in 2002’s Into The Woods and became a huge television star as well as an ESSENCE covergirl.

(Photo by Bruce Glikas/Getty Images) 03Billy PorterBefore he was introducing the world to the ins and out of Ballroom culture Billy Porter was an understudy in Five Guys Named Moe.

(Photo By Bruce Glikas/Getty Images) 04Billy PorterToday the ESSENCE cover star and red carpet assassinis one of the biggest names in Hollywood.

(Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images) 05Audra MacDonaldMcDonald first appeared on stage as a replacement in ‘The Secret Garden.’

(Photo by Richard Corkery/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images) 06Audra McDonaldMultiple Tony Awards later she was stealing our hearts as Aretha Franklin’s ill fated mommy in ‘Respect.’

(Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images) 07Viola DavisViola Davis appeared in the August Wilson play Seven Guitars in the mid-nineties.

(Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) 08Viola DavisTwenty-one years later she was taking home the Oscar for the film adaptation of the playwright’s Fences. Come on full circle!

(Photo by Matt Petit/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images). 09Phylicia RashadRashad appeared in Jelly’s Last Jam in 1992.

(Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) 10Phylicia RashadToday she has a mile long resume and she will be resuming her role as Mary Anne in Creed III in 2022.

(Photo by Bruce Glikas/Getty Images) 11Denzel WashingtonShortly before Whitley was wailing his name into a pillow on A Different World Washington was starring in Checkmates.

Denzel Washington (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images) 12Denzel WashingtonToday the Oscar winner is starring in the highly anticipated Macbeth retelling from Apple+.

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for WarnerMedia) 610265 13Denzel WashingtonHe is also directing and mentoring young talents like Chante Adams and Michael B. Jordan in projects like A Journal for Jordan.

(Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images) 14Cicely TysonCicely Tyson made her Broadway debut in Jolly’s Progress in the late 1950s.

15Cicely TysonShe went on to rack up nearly 100 separate film and tv credits and inspire generations of Black performers.

(Photo by Prince Williams/Wireimage) 16Cicely TysonHer work left such a mark on the entertainment industry that Tyler Perry named a soundstage after her at his namesake studio facilities in Georgia.

17Anika Noni RoseNoni Rose appeared in a production of Footloose in 1998 before she took center stage in Caroline, Or Change.

NEW YORK – MAY 2: (U.S. TABS AND HOLLYWOOD REPORTER OUT)Anika Nona Rose arrives at the After Party for the opening night of “Caroline or Change” , May 2, 2004 in New York City. (Photo by Scott Eells/Getty Images) 18Anika Noni RoseToday she is a Tony Award winner, the voice of the first Black Disney princess and a new podcast host who is telling the stories of other talented women on the Being Seen podcast with the help of ViiV.

(Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions) 19Sheryl Lee RalphLee Ralph appeared in 1980’s Reggae before inventing the mold as the original Deena Jones in Dreamgirls in 1981.

(Photo by Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images) 20Sheryl Lee RalphToday she is starring in the upcoming Abbott Elementary, charming holiday films that center Black families and sitting atop the list of our all time TV bonus moms.

(Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images) 21Loretta DevineDevine was also one of the original Dreamgirls. She brought the role of Lorrell Robinson to life.

(Photo by Wendy Maeda/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) 22Loretta DevineToday she has over 150 film and television credits and has played a diverse range of roles including mild mannered vegetable picklers and slick hucksters looking to shake down semi-celebrities.

(Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for ESSENCE) 23Diahann CarrollThe songbird and glamour puss appeared in the 1954 musical House of Flowers.

(Photo by © Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images) 24Diahann CarrollHer iconic roles including Julia, Dominique Deveraux and our personal favorite Preston Bailey’s no-nonsense mother on Grey’s Anatomy earned her a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

(Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images) 25Diahann CarrollIt also got her well deserved recognition at our Fierce and Fabulous Awards and Black Women in Hollywood luncheon.

(Photo by George Napolitano/FilmMagic) 26Patina MillerAfter a brief stint in Hair, Miller stunned as Deloris Van Cartier in Sister Act before playing a sharp press professional on Madam Secretary.

(Photo by Nat Jag/FilmMagic) 27Patina MillerToday the Tony Award winner is using those stage chops to pull off a surprisingly convincing accent and enviable wardrobe as a maternal Black widow in the Power Book III: Raising Kanan.

(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for the Critics Choice Association) 28Condola RashadBefore the literal Broadway baby was making a smart play for POTUS on Billions she was starring in Stick Fly.

(Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images) 29Condola RashadToday she is shanking her on screen daddy on the hit Showtime Series, releasing fun futuristic singles, and inspiring controversial sitcom characters.

(Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images) 30James Earl JonesEarl Jones played the original Edward in 1958’s Sunrise At Campobello.

(Photo by © Bettmann/CORBIS/Bettmann Archive) 31James Earl Jones Today he and his thunderous voice have cemented countless characters in our brain including the King savvy enough to throw his own funeral in Coming 2 America.

(Photo by Walter McBride/WireImage) 32Heather HeadleyThe Tony winner was the original Nala in the 1997 premiere of The Lion King.

(Photo:Scott Gries/ImageDirect) 33Heather HeadleyToday she is a Grammy Award-winning Gospel singer who stands tall on series like Chicago Fire.

(Photo by: Elizabeth Morris/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images) 34Harry BelafonteThe actor and activist made his Broadway debut in 1953’s Almanac.

Bettmann / Contributor Getty Images 35Harry BelafonteToday he has become an icon as known for his spirited performances as he is for fighting for what is right.

(Photo by Taylor Hill/WireImage) 36Jeffrey WrightWright starred in two of the original roles in Tony Kushner’s acclaimed Angels In America.

Jeffrey Wright (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage) 37Jeffrey WrightToday the Emmy winner continues to bring complex characters to life on series like Westworld and projects like the upcoming The Batman.

(Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images) 38Daveed DiggsDiggs was the original Marquis de Lafayette in the play turned cultural phenomenonHamilton.

(Photo by Andrew Toth/Getty Images for The Lucille Lortel Awards) 39Daveed DigsToday he is a huge part of the Black-ish universe and starring in series like Snowpiercer and Central Park.

(Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic) 40Emmy Raver-LampmanRaver-Lampman was an understudy who also appeared in the ensemble in Hamilton.

(Photo by Walter McBride/Getty Images) 41Emmy Raver-LampmanShe went on to star in Jane The Virgin, and The Umbrella Academy and will appear in the upcoming films Gatlopp and Sam.