The release of the musical In the Heights is highly anticipated due to the involvement of Lin-Manuel Miranda, who came up with the play the movie is based on. Telling the story of a bodega owner who strives for a better life and the people he meets along the way, the cast of the movie has also been under focus.
Viewers are excited to see young performers like Anthony Ramos and Melissa Barrera onscreen for what will be a quality musical experience, but the actors in In the Heights have displayed great range prior to their roles here, as well. To this end, it’s worth checking out these diverse TV shows and movies to appreciate the actors’ talents.
Anthony Ramos: She's Gotta Have It (2017 - 2019)
Based on the 1986 film by Spike Lee, this Netflix adaptation sees Nola Darling as a single woman who’s juggling three suitors at the same time. With each man possessing a wildly different personality compared to their rivals, Nola finds it difficult to commit to any one of them as the men try their best to win her over.
Anthony Ramos played the immature and motor-mouthed young love interest to the main character in this comedy-drama series. In a series known for its mature content, the actor was able to portray a person both naive and over the top, with viewers encouraged to root for him, despite the flaws in his personality.
Stephanie Beatriz: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2013 - 2021)
An NBC police procedural sitcom with Andy Samberg playing the lead role of Jake Peralta, Brooklyn Nine-Nine centers around the NYPD where Jake and his colleagues find themselves in a number of cases around the city as their misadventures ultimately make the streets safer.
Stephanie Beatriz appears as Rosa Diaz, who is a hilarious contrast to Jake's loony personality, and instead is no-nonsense and straight to business. The comedy series is notable for mixing in action without compromising its quality and Beatriz’s character gets involved in a number of cases as she develops into a more sincere person.
Jimmy Smits: Dexter - Season 3 (2008)
In one of Showtime's biggest hits, Michael C. Hall plays Dexter Morgan, a serial killer who hunts other killers and ends up befriending a man called Miguel Prado, the Assistant District Attorney in Miami. Fascinated by Dexter’s secret, Miguel becomes his accomplice, only for his and Dexter’s relationship to deteriorate to dangerous lengths.
Jimmy Smits was best characters to debut after the show’s premiere.
Melissa Barrera: Vida (2018 - 2020)
In this Starz drama series, two estranged sisters are forced to return to their hometown after the death of their mother. Due to their clashing personalities, the sisters find it hard to co-exist until they begin to uncover secrets their mother had hidden from them.
Melissa Barrera appears as Lyn Hernandez in this drama series that also contains an arc of mystery for the main characters to solve. The series is noted as a highly modern interpretation of society, with Barrera’s character a free-spirited woman who reflects on her choices.
Olga Merediz: Saint George (2014)
In this multi-cam sitcom for FX, George Lopez stars as a recently divorced man who has to maintain his new life that sees him constantly surrounded by his ex-wife, his family, and his struggles to keep up with his job of teaching at a night school, all to wacky lengths.
Saint George is hardly the most high-quality comedy series to watch, but Olga Merediz was certainly a delight as the titular character’s mother, whose outrageous nature is played for laughs and bolstered by the actress’s talent for comedy.
Daphne Rubin-Vega: Jack Goes Boating (2010)
Based on an Off-Broadway play starring Phillip Seymour Hoffman in the title role, Jack Goes Boating is about a shy man who begins a romantic relationship with an equally shy woman, set up by Jack’s friend and his wife. However, the strain of Jack's friend's failing marriage slips into his new relationship and threatens to ruin their entire dynamic.
Although presented as a story about the character played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Daphne Rubin-Vega has an equally important part to play in this dramedy in which her character’s issues with her husband turn out to be the barrier between all the couples’ happiness.
Dascha Polanco: Orange Is The New Black (2013 - 2019)
One of Netflix's first original series, as well as one of its longest, Orange Is the New Black centers on Piper Chapman, a troubled woman who is sentenced to a minimum-security women’s prison. There, she befriends some of the inmates while standing at odds with others. During the series, the lives of many other women in the prison are told in detail.
Dascha Polanco played the character of Daya Diaz, who had one of the more emotional arcs. Orange Is the New Black is also notable for its meaty storylines for more than just the main characters.
Anthony Ramos: Monsters And Men (2018)
In three intertwined stories, the consequences of police brutality are shown with the story of a officer and two citizens at the center of the conflict. After the officer kills the friend of one of the main leads, the witnesses attempt to seek justice, while the authorities try to justify their actions.
Anthony Ramos delivered perhaps his most genuine performance in Monsters and Men - a movie that deals with tragedy in a realistic way. While the subject material is sensitive, the message the movie means to send is an important one that Ramos’ character and the ing cast bolster.
Corey Hawkins: Straight Outta Compton (2015)
In this biographical drama, the rise and fall of the rap group N.W.A. and its stars, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, and Eazy-E, are explored, along with the ins and outs of the hip-hop industry. As their popularity soars, the men’s lives are challenged as they look to navigate through stardom and controversy.
the best hip-hop movie made, with Corey Hawkins playing Dr. Dre. The actor took on an all-new persona that his fans wouldn’t associate with him, as Hawkins embodies Dr. Dre’s mannerisms to make this movie as authentic as possible.
Lin-Manuel Miranda: Hamilton (2020)
The musical Hamilton is a dramatized depiction of the life of Alexander Hamilton, and the play is divided between the titular protagonist’s early life and the events that contributed to his demise in the fateful duel. The movie version is a live stage recording of the play.
Lin-Manuel Miranda rose to stardom with Hamilton, due in part to the highly memorable songs he wrote and performed. His appearance as the titular character can be experienced in all its glory in this movie, where viewers can catch up on the play that became one of the most popular productions in recent memory.
