Corey Hawkins's Role in In the Heights Was Meant to Be, and 5 Other Facts About the Star

During the 2017 US Open, Corey performed "God Bless America" before the men's singles final. Interestingly enough, his performance caught the attention of In the Heights creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who was sitting in the stands. As his Esquire profile notes, the performance essentially helped Corey book the role of Benny in the film adaptation.

Corey's role in In the Heights really was meant to be. As the actor noted in his Esquire profile, it's actually the first musical he saw when he moved to NYC for college. While studying at Juilliard, he also lived a few blocks from Washington Heights. Talk about full circle!

After graduating Juilliard, Corey began starring in a handful of off-Broadway shows. In 2013, he made his Broadway debut as Tybalt in the revival of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and in 2017, he starred in the Broadway revival of Six Degrees of Separation alongside Allison Janney and John Benjamin Hickey. "Theatre is where I sort of cut my teeth," he told The Star.

In addition to his theater credits, Corey has already starred in a handful of big movies. Some of his most notable roles so far are Dr. Dre in Straight Outta Compton, Houston in Kong: Skull Island, Stokely Carmichael in BlacKkKlansman, and Blaine in 6 Underground.