‘I Want to Be Here for My Son’: Taye Diggs On CandyJar, Cancer Fears and Taking Risks (Exclusive)
From steamy CandyJar microdramas to Cancerguard screening, the 55-year-old hearthrob is all in on new chapters
Taye Diggs is much more than an actor. The New Jersey native is a father, a son, a Broadway icon—and now a microdrama star. Thanks to his upcoming role on CandyJar—the first microdrama streaming platform—Diggs is expanding his horizons and diving headfirst into the new project.
CandyJar episodes are shorter, bite-sized versions of romance and drama episodes. Launched in 2023, the shorter length of these dramas is meant to make the final product more enticing, having viewers tune in over and over. The microdramas are heavily trope-focused, with lots of romance and always a happy ending.
“The new platform is called verticals,” Diggs shared with Woman’s World. “They’re mini dramas, and they’re so much fun. It’s the length of a normal script, but the episodes are shorter and they’re juicier and more exciting. I just finished shooting my first one in Atlanta with a wonderful actress, Jessica Jarrell. We got a lot of really good people in there and it was awesome; it was a great experience. CandyJar was amazing. The producers were great. It’s really fun writing and I think people are gonna enjoy it.”
Diggs is starring in and executive producing the upcoming vertical drama, Off Limits & All Mine. The official logline of the series explains that he will star as “a widower who takes in his best friend’s rebellious daughter and realizes that a dangerous and transformative connection is about to unfold.”
No release date has been revealed yet, but the episodes will likely be available soon!
Inside Taye Diggs’ new CandyJar microdrama ‘Off Limits & All Mine’
You may recognize the actor from his many popular roles, including How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), The Best Man (1999), Rent (2005) and All American (2018-2024). You also may have seen him on the Broadway stage in productions such as Carousel (1994), Rent (1996), Chicago (2002), Wicked (2003-2004) and most recently, Moulin Rouge! The Musical (2025).
But now Diggs is getting into the vertical drama space, the actor sharing that he wanted to experience something new, thus his interest in CandyJar.
“I’m never the person that gets in on situations at the ground floor,” he pointed out. “I’m always late to the party. So, when I heard of these mini dramas, I just wanted to be a part of it in the earlier stages. There’s a bit of a risk only in that you don’t know how successful they’re going to be. But I’m always up for new experiences and I didn’t have much to lose. It’s kind of exciting to be a part of something new.”
Fans of the platform are already excited to see Diggs in this new space, and it seems the actor himself is looking forward to continuing his work there.
“It was awesome,” Diggs said of the experience. “I want to do a lot more. It’s a different kind of acting. It’s a little bit juicier, and it’s nice I can take a break from all of the serious work—I can have fun. We had a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to doing more.”
Why Taye Diggs partnered with Cancerguard after losing both parents
Despite his excitement to begin a new project, Diggs shared that he’s always a little nervous getting into something at its beginning. But when he learned that many people are excited to see his microdrama, Diggs was ecstatic.
“Sometimes, especially when you’re shooting, you feel like you’re in a vacuum,” he said. You don’t know what’s going on outside. It’s a new project…It’s just like [with the] Cancerguard screening, I can breathe a little easier.”
While Diggs is ready to dive right into his CandyJar, he’s also supporting something else very close to him. The actor has recently partnered with Cancerguard, a blood test that can detect 50+ cancer types and subtypes, encouraging people to get screened for different types of cancers early on and before it’s too late.
“Unfortunately, both my parents were taken away from us early from various types of cancer,” the actor shared. “I’m a father myself. I love being a father and I love my son and though I had a good amount of time with both parents, I want to be here as long as possible for my son, Walker.”
After experiencing cancer loss firsthand, Diggs wanted the peace of mind for himself, and he wants others to have the same.
He added, “The thing with cancer is so many times you hear too much too late. Many people, understandably, are scared to get tested…I just want to encourage people to try to put their fear aside and focus on their relationships and to take this simple test to give themselves peace of mind. Once I took that test, I was able to relax…once you have that information, you can move forward in the way you want to as opposed to being surprised.”
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