BK native lands role in 'Hamilton'
A young Brooklyn man is a fast-rising star in the blockbuster Broadway show 'Hamilton.' Anthony Ramos, who was raised in a Bushwick NYCHA complex, plays the dual roles of Philip Hamilton and John Laurens.
News 12 Staff
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Apr 8, 2016, 10:46 PM
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Updated 2,950 days ago
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A young Brooklyn man is a fast-rising star in the blockbuster Broadway show 'Hamilton.'
Anthony Ramos, who was raised in a Bushwick NYCHA complex, plays the dual roles of Philip Hamilton and John Laurens.
Ramos credits hard work, perseverance and self-confidence for his budding success, even in the face of adversity.
"Just a couple years ago, I was sitting in these seats saying, 'Man, I'm gonna get up there one day. I don't know how, but I'm gonna get up there one day,'" Ramos says. "And now I'm up there."
Ramos spent a good portion of his life sleeping on couches and portable mattresses, he says. He was working toward a career in baseball.
But during his junior year at New Utrecht High School, he says he took up theater arts by mistake.
He thought he was auditioning for a talent show, but it ended up being a school musical -- and he got the part.
Sara Steinweiss, the school's theater director, says Ramos immediately caught her eye.
"Anthony truly had the entire package," Steinweiss says. "It's a personality that goes with the talent."
But Ramos was starting late in a field where most of his competitors began training as young as 5 years old.
"It was so cool to overcome that obstacle," Ramos says. "It felt like a victory."
Now he's part of the biggest show on Broadway.
