Everything to Know About the Whirlwind Career of Twisters' Anthony Ramos
Whether chasing storms or fame, you have to hold on tight.
The 1996 disaster film Twister is a beloved classic of the genre, and it begins with a tragedy. An F5 tornado strikes an Oklahoma farm where a young Jo Harding (played later, as an adult, by Helen Hunt) watches in horror as her father disappears into the sky. The experience fuels a lifelong obsession with understanding tornadoes, through the use of a custom-built instrument array called Dorothy.
Three decades later, the story picks up in Universal’s Twisters, a standalone sequel now in theaters, from director Lee Isaac Chung and screenwriter Mark L. Smith. Twisters opens much like its predecessor, with a handful of people staring down a powerful storm. This time, it’s a team of modern-day storm chasers using an evolved version of the Dorothy device.
RELATED: Turns Out Steven Spielberg Is Responsible for Changing Twisters' Ending
Actor and musician Anthony Ramos plays Javi, one of the storm chasers at the forefront of tornado research in Twisters. Of course, tornadoes might just be more of the same for Ramos, who has enjoyed a whirlwind career across stage and screen.
Who Did Anthony Ramos Play in Hamilton?
Ramos is perhaps best known for originating the dual roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton (eldest son of Alexander Hamilton) in Lin Manuel-Miranda’s smash Broadway hit, Hamilton. He was awarded the Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series or Movie, for the 2020 stage recording of the musical.
Ramos grew up in Brooklyn, not far from the alluring siren-song of Broadway, but as a child he was more interested in baseball. A love of performing wouldn’t come until later. He got his start singing Motown songs as a member of Halsey Trio at Halsey Junior High School. During his junior year at New Utrecht High School, Ramos auditioned for what he thought was a talent show, but it ended up being a musical. Sara Steinweiss, founder and former musical director of the New Utrecht High School Theater Guild, cast Ramos and encouraged him to pursue performing arts.
RELATED: Anthony Ramos Has a Wild Story About Auditioning for The Voice with a John Legend Song
After high school roles in Little Shop of Horrors and Into the Woods, Steinweiss recommended Ramos audition for The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA). With her help, he got in with a full ride scholarship, and graduated in 2011.
Is Twisters Star Anthony Ramos Engaged?
Ramos was previously engaged to Hamilton co-star Jasmine Cephas Jones. The duo ended their engagement in November of 2021. Ramos is now in a relationship with singer-songwriter Eva Ruiz.
Anthony Ramos On and Off Broadway
Out of college, Ramos went straight to the starring role in Grease at the Surflight Theater in New Jersey. A few months after that show ended, he was on a nationwide tour of Damn Yankees, hitting 67 cities over a period of three months. Two months later, he was cast as Usnavi de la Vega, the lead role of In the Heights, another Lin Manuel-Miranda show pre-dating Hamilton.
Ramos booked a role in a show called Heart and Lights; around the same time, a show with the working title The Hamilton Mixtape was auditioning. There was no way he could make both shows work, but he auditioned anyway. Heart and Lights got canceled during previews, The Hamilton Mixtape became Hamilton, and the rest is history.
RELATED: Here's Every Celebrity Who's Worked with the Artists on The Voice
Hamilton opened off-Broadway in early 2015 and had moved to Broadway by the summer. Ramos played the roles of John Laurens and Philip Hamilton until he left the show November 20, 2016.
Anthony Ramos, from Stage to Screen
Ramos rode Hamilton’s cultural tidal wave to the big screen, churning out an impressive number of roles in a relatively short time. You may have seen him or heard his voice as Ramon (opposite Lada Gaga) in A Star is Born; as Staff Sergeant Anthony Martinez in Godzilla: King of the Monsters; as King Trollex in Trolls World Tour; as Usnavi de la Vega in the screen adaptation of In the Heights; Mr. Piranha in The Bad Guys; as Noa Diaz in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts; and, of course, as Javi in Twisters.
Ramos has also made his mark on television in shows like She's Gotta Have It, Blindspotting, In Treatment, and as a Playoff Mentor for Team Reba on this past season of NBC's The Voice.
Twisters opened in theaters nationwide July 19, 2024. Get your tickets and hang on tight!
