Jasmine Cephas Jones on Learning from Philip Seymour Hoffman & Strutting Her Stuff in Hamilton

Age: 26

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

Current Role(s): A dual Broadway debut in Hamilton as Peggy, the youngest of the beguiling Schuyler sisters, and Maria Reynolds, whose affair with the title character [Lin-Manuel Miranda] nearly derails his political career.

Stage and Screen Cred: After graduating from LaGuardia High School and the Neighborhood Playhouse, Jones joined her father, Broadway vet Ron Cephas Jones, as a member of Labyrinth Theater Company. On the big screen, she‘s featured in Noah Baumbach’s new comedy Mistress America.

“Opening night felt like a dream. At one point, I looked around and my mom [British-born jazz singer Kim Lesley] was on top of a chair, dancing to the Roots. It was that kind of party. With fireworks!”

“It’s fun to play the vixen. In the first act, I’m a kid running around and looking up to my sisters. In the second act, I get to put on red lipstick and strut my stuff. Lin never makes anything uncomfortable, which gives me permission not to feel weird.”

“I’ve lived in the same apartment since seventh grade. It’s in my name now; my mom moved upstate. She wanted me to grow up in a multicultural neighborhood, and Midwood, Brooklyn is still a great community. I can walk into a store and my iced coffee will be ready.”

“I was always that kid at the theater. My dad took me to his auditions, and I did homework during rehearsals. When I was 10, I remember [director] Philip Seymour Hoffman telling someone, ‘You’re acting. Don’t act.’ It made no sense then, but later it clicked: Acting has to be real.”

“High school at LaGuardia really was like Fame. People would sing in the halls and look for ways to show off their talent. Kids were popular because they worked their asses off, not because they were good-looking, which was a great lesson.”

“There are so many things I want to do. This is my first professional musical theater job, but I don’t want to put myself in a box. I took my dad’s name to carry on his legacy because acting feels like something I’m meant to do. I want to try everything.”