Last year, future EGOT winner Lin-Manuel Miranda — who’s basically the coast-to-coast king of Broadway and Hollywood right now — responded to a tweet wanting to know when Jebidiah Atkinson would give his take on Hamilton. “It’s true. The world waits,” Miranda responded. Well, the world won’t have to wait much longer because Taran Killam, who played the cranky newspaper critic on SNL, has joined the cast of Hamilton as King George.
“He will step into the ornate shoes of the comical King George — originated by Jonathan Groff and also played by Andrew Rannells, and Brian d’Arcy James off-Broadway — beginning Jan. 17,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. Hamilton is Killam’s Broadway debut (amusingly, his wife, How I Met Your Mother‘s Cobie Smulders, is also set to make her first appearance on the Great White Way next year) and biggest role since his contract surprisingly wasn’t picked up by SNL, although he’s been tapped to star in Showtime’s Mating.
We know Killam has the moves for Broadway…
… but is he prepared for the rabid Hamilton fans? If Killam needs any advice about stepping into a super-successful Broadway musical, he can always ask fellow-SNL cast member Toonces the Driving Cat for advice. People still rave about his performance as Mr. Mistoffelees in Cats to this day.
(Via the Hollywood Reporter)
