Andrew Garfield and the Tick, Tick… Boom! cast helped to bring the beloved musical to life in a geature film with stunning results. The feature directorial debut of Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tick. Tick… Boom! is the on-screen adaptation of Jonathan Larson’s semi-autobiographical musical of the same name. With a screenplay by Dear Evan Hansen writer Steven Levenson, Tick, Tick... Boom! follows Larson as he struggles with the internal turmoil of turning 30 and not achieving anything yet.

In 1990, Jonathan Larson originated the show off-off-Broadway, calling it Boho Days. Over the next three years, he performed the rock monologue, now called Tick, Tick… Boom! in different festivals, venues, and theater workshops. This caught the attention of producer Jeffrey Seller, leading him to become a fan of Larson’s Rent and bring the musical to Broadway. Following Larson’s death in 1996, Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn reshaped Tick, Tick… Boom! into a three-actor musical. Tick, Tick… Boom! has since been staged in London, California, and Canada, and it has had several local and international productions.

Andrew Garfield as Jonathan Larson

Jonathan Larson is a playwright and composer best known for his musical Rent. He notably spent eight years crafting Superbia, a rock retelling of George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. However, Superbia never received a full production, and this disappointment pushed Larson to write an autobiographical piece, which later on became Tick, Tick… Boom!. Afterward, he started working on Rent, but he never witnessed its success, as the night before its first off-Broadway performance, he ed away from an undiagnosed aortic aneurysm.

Andrew Garfield stars in the movie Tick, Tick… Boom! as Larson, a performance which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Actor as well as an Oscar nomination which he lost to Will Smith in King Richard. Garfield’s most memorable acting credits include Jack Burridge in Boy A, Eduardo Saverin in The Social Network, and Peter Parker/ Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man. Garfield returned as Spider-Man in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He also received an Academy Award nomination for his role in the 2017 film Hacksaw Ridge.

Alexandra Shipp as Susan

Susan is Jonathan’s girlfriend. She decides to pursue becoming a dance teacher in the Berkshires, while Jonathan unintentionally pushes her away as he prepares for his workshop in New York. Susan is played by Alexandra Shipp, who became famous for portraying Aaliyah Haughton in the 2014 biographical television film Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B. She was also introduced into the Marvel Universe as Ororo Monroe/ Storm, appearing in X-Men: Apocalypse and X-Men: Dark Phoenix. Her more recent roles include Kate Finch in All The Bright Places, Riley Jean Stanheight in Endless, and Julia in Silk Road. She will also be part of the massive cast of Barbie in Greta Gerwig's movie.

Robin de Jesús as Michael

Michael is Jonathan’s best friend since childhood. Like Jonathan, he also showed interest in theater, but he became tired of the starving artist lifestyle. He then gets a job at an advertising company, leading a luxurious life on his own. Michael is brought to life by Robin de Jesús, whose performance in another Lin-Manuel Miranda musical, In The Heights, earned him a Tony Award nomination. De Jesús also ed the production of La Cage aux Folles, Wicked, and The Boys in the Band. He also recently appeared on the true-crime series Welcome to Chippendales.

Tick, Tick... Boom!'s ing Cast & Characters

Vanessa Hudgens as Karessa Johnson - Karessa is Jonathan’s friend and a talented singer who accompanies him in his workshop of Superbia. Portraying the role is Vanessa Hudgens, who rose to international prominence as Gabriella Montez in the High School Musical franchise. In 2019, Hudgens ed the live television production of Jonathan Larson’s musical Rent as Maureen Johnson. She also starred in Bad Boys for Life as Kelly and will return for the Bad Boys 4.

Joshua Henry as Roger - Roger performs alongside Karessa and Jonathan in the production of Tick, Tick… Boom! Joshua Henry provides the powerful voice of Roger. Henry has an impressive list of theater credits, including In The Heights, American Idiot, Violet, Hamilton, and Carousel. Currently, he appears in the Broadway production of Waitress as Dr. Pomatter.

Jonathan Marc Sherman as Ira Weitzman - As the head of musical theater at Playwrights Horizon, Ira is the only one who offered to put on a workshop on Larson’s dystopian musical Superbia. Jonathan Marc Sherman, who plays Ira, is a playwright himself. He has penned more than a dozen plays.

Bradley Whitford as Stephen Sondheim - Bringing Stephen Sondheim on-screen is Bradley Whitford, who is known as Josh Lyman in The West Wing, and Commander Joseph Lawrence in The Handmaid's Tale. He's also appeared in movies like Get Out. Sondheim is one of the most prominent figures in musical theater, revolutionizing the genre, tackling the unexpected side of human experience, and mentoring up-and-coming artists, including Larson himself. His most popular works include West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and Into the Woods.

Judith Light as Rosa Stevens - Rosa is Jonathan’s agent, who encourages him to keep on pursuing his ion. She is played by Tony Award winner Judith Light, whose genre-busting acting credits include shows like Ugly Betty, Dallas, and Transparent, and films like Scrooge & Marley and We'll Never Have Paris. She also led the cast of the Broadway productions Lombardi, Other Desert Cities, and Thérèse Raquin.

Ben Levi Ross as Freddy - Freddy is one of Jonathan’s workmates in the Moondance Diner. He is played by Ben Levi Ross, who has portrayed Evan, Connor, and an understudy for Jared in the award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen. For said performance, Ross won two BroadwayWorld awards and an Eliot Norton Awards for Outstanding Musical Performance.

Mj Rodriguez as Carolyn - Carolyn works as a waitress in the Moondance Diner, alongside Jonathan and Freddy. She is played by Mj Rodriguez, one of the lead stars of FX’s drama Pose.

Richard Kind as Walter Bloom - Walter Bloom is one of the ists at the BMI Workshop Larson attended a few years before the workshop of Superbia. He is portrayed by Richard Kind, who has voiced various characters in Pixar films, including A Bug's Life, Cars, and Inside Out.

Tick, Tick... Boom!'s Broadway Cameos

One of Tick, Tick… Boom!’s scenes involve a jam-packed Moondance Diner for Sunday brunch. Torn between finishing his musical Superbia and visiting his friend Freddy in the hospital, Jonathan airs out his frustrations in a musical number — featuring numerous Broadway stars. Cameos in the “Sunday” scene include Renee Elise Goldsberry and Phillipa Soo of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s iconic musical Hamilton, and Adam Pascal, Daphne Rubin Vega, and Wilson Jermaine Heredia of Rent.

Veteran Broadway stars André De Shields of Hadestown, Brian Stokes Mitchell of Kiss Me, Kate, Chita Rivera of West Side Story, and Bernadette Peters of Sunday in the Park with George are also honored. They are ed by award-winning actors Joel Grey, Chuck Cooper, and Howard McGillin. Lastly, Tick, Tick… Boom!’s director Lin-Manuel Miranda appears in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo as the diner’s chef.

Tick Tick Boom Was Snubbed During Awards Season

Tick, Tick... Boom! was snubbed across the board in the 2022 awards season despite the strength of its cast, the renown of its director, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Tick, Tick... Boom!'s positive reviews. While Steven Spielberg's musical West Side Story (which, like Tick, Tick... Boom!, was clearly conceived as an Oscar contender) was nominated for numerous Academy Awards and BAFTAs, the Larson adaptation received no BAFTA nominations whatsoever and was up for only two Oscars, neither of which it won.

The reasons behind Tick, Tick... Boom!'s various snubs aren't entirely clear, though they could be tied to the musical's original streaming release on Netflix. While this has become more commonplace in recent years thanks to the pandemic, it's possible that the lack of a theatrical release held Tick, Tick... Boom! back. Alternatively, in the case of the BAFTAs specifically, it could have been a general indifference towards musicals that was at fault. Regardless, with a cast, director, and story as strong as it is, it's a shock that Tick, Tick... Boom! didn't perform better in the 2022 awards season.