Taye Diggs says there’s a lot more involved The real Full Monty than he first imagined.
The actor spoke with PEOPLE about his work on the new two-hour special, which will see a “bold group of male celebrities” strip down to raise awareness for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer testing and research.
The event is inspired by the 1997 Oscar-nominated film The full MontyAnthony Anderson will executive produce.
“Uncomfortably, I thought I was just doing Anthony Anderson a favor and supporting cancer. But when we got there and really started talking about these issues, everyone started opening up and we got to know each other on a different level,” Diggs says of the cast.
Along with Diggs, James Van Der Beek, Kansas City Chiefs defensive end Chris Jones and longtime Dancing with the stars judge Bruno Tonioli is scheduled to appear in a special that will air on Fox in December.
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Taye Diggs. Michael Loccisano/Getty James Van Der Beek, Taye Diggs, and More Male Celebrities Get Stripped Down The real Full Monty Special
“It made the performance, instead of it being a cute strip with all these middle-aged men, it meant something,” Diggs continues.
According to the logline, The real Full Monty will follow the six men as “they train and rehearse for the most revealing performance of their careers, culminating in a major strip dance, choreographed by Emmy Award winner Mandy Moore, where they strip naked in front of a live audience.”
“Until the final disrobing, the men will push their boundaries of comfort, modesty and brotherhood through a series of trials and experiences, private and public, designed to build trust and push them far beyond their comfort zones and strengthen their bond as a group,” the description reads.
All of this is designed to remove the stigma surrounding prostate, testicular and colon cancer. During the special, each celebrity will share their personal stories about how cancer has affected their lives.
“It was a situation I didn’t expect and I was more than pleasantly surprised,” says Diggs. “The other thing is that we had the right choreography, so it ended up being a lot more than I thought it would be, but that’s something I’m really proud of.”
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Taye Diggs at the Lysol GermZone event.
Courtesy of Lysol
Another thing Diggs is proud of? Its recent partnership with Lysol. On Saturday, Oct. 26, Diggs visited The Germ Zone experience in Tuscaloosa, Ala., at Champions Lane. The event, which was held in the Crimson Tide’s pregame fan fest area, located outside the northwest gate of Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium, was presented by The Germ Booth.
There, fans sang their team’s fight song loud and proud, while VR technology showed droplets of viruses and bacteria being thrown into the air and showed how Lysol helps kill them and protect sports fans.
“I’m a father and I’m getting older, and my health is something that’s very important to me. So this partnership kind of makes sense because it’s simple,” he tells PEOPLE.
Diggs has a 15-year-old son, Walker, with his ex-wife and LEASE colleague Idina Menzel.
“I know I get rid of a lot of bacteria, like 99.9% of germs, they get rid of them. And it sounds silly to talk about it, but these things are important. I’m old enough now to see what happens when we’re not careful, and at my age I love live every day so that at most, when I have a cold, nobody wins.”
This college football season, fans can get their own Germ Zone Essentials package by commenting with the hashtag #LysolGermZoneSweeps on content posted by @Lysol on Instagram.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education