Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Said His Role in a Classic Broadway Play Was the ‘Hardest Thing’ He’d Ever Done

Sean “Diddy” Combs is now famous as a disgraced music mogul, but he once had Broadway ambitions. Combs began his career in the music industry, working with artists such as The Notorious B.I.G. and releasing music of his own. In 2004, however, he surprised many fans with his appearance in a classic Broadway play. He said he felt that he was born to play the role, but admitted it wasn’t easy.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs starred in a Broadway show in 2004

In 2004, Combs made his Broadway debut in A Raisin in the Sun as Walter Lee Younger, Jr. He’d acted before and built a music empire, but he said this was the most difficult project he’d faced.

“I’d have to say it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, you know? I never had aspirations to star on Broadway. And this came across my plate, and I really jumped at the opportunity,” he said on Wolf Blitzer Reports in 2004. “It’s such a classic piece of literary work from Lorraine Hansberry. It’s a story that rings true in my heart, about the American dream. And, you know, it’s something I think that’s important to be told right now, when a lot of dreams are being deferred.”

Combs said that while he found the part slightly daunting, he knew he had to jump at the chance.

“When it came across my path, I felt like it was something that I had to step up to this challenge,” he said. “I wanted to. It was something that was historical and something that meant something to me and also, I think, would mean something to a lot of young people who haven’t really been exposed to Broadway.”

“And also, it being an African-American play, and there are not a lot of them, it was a huge opportunity and chance,” he added. “And it was a story I wanted to be a part of. It’s the first time it’s been revived on Broadway in 50 years.”

Several years later, he returned to the role in the television adaptation of the play.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs said he could relate to his character in the Broadway play

Combs said he could relate the role to his own past. He mined his memory to prepare for the part. This was part of the reason he wanted to take the role.

“My father was killed when I was three,” Combs told ABC News. “I had my first son, and I still didn’t make it yet … these are things that I think we all have gone through.”

Combs felt that the role was calling to him.

“I feel like this was a role that I was destined to play,” Combs said. “This is the role of a lifetime for any actor. It changed my life.”

Did Diddy continue with an acting career after this?

Combs said that after his role in A Raisin in the Sun, he planned to transition into more acting roles. Over the years, he made guest appearances in several television series, like CSI: Miami, Hawaii Five-0, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Black-ish. 

Combs took on film roles and appeared in several projects as himself. Despite this, his primary focus remained music.