Taye Diggs had been through this before. The popular star of "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" and "The Best Man" got his first break in the original stage production of "Rent." The show meant something not only because of what the cast went through (more on that later), but because it's where he met his wife, co-star Idina Menzel.

For years, filmmakers had been trying to make a movie about the eclectic group of lower-East Side squatters trying to survive the dangers of the early '90s. Diggs thought it was all "lip service."

"The closest we came was Spike Lee," Diggs says. "Everyone made a big deal because he met with all the original cast members. But, it was made known to us he didn't have any real intentions of casting us."

In fact, Lee was intending to use established recording stars such as Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. Eventually, Lee discarded the project and an unlikely savior appeared in director Chris Columbus, who has made his mark with blockbusters like the first two "Harry Potter" installments and "Mrs. Doubtfire." Columbus was not the first person the cast would have considered for something like "Rent," but his passion eventually won them over.

"I didn't want to sign on unless I knew if this piece was going to be in the right hands," Diggs says. "And he gave me some indication by agreeing to use a lot of us [from the original cast.]"

One of the experiences that helped the original cast bond was the death of the musical's creator, Jonathan Larson, the night after the show's first dress rehearsal. After digesting the shock, the cast decided to continue with that night's scheduled preview. The original plan was just to do a table reading of the show.

"I'll never forget we all started sitting literally at a long table like this," Diggs says. "And, then slowly, starting with [former cast member] Daphne singing 'Out Tonight'... "

Diggs pauses for a moment, covers his face and then says to his co-star Anthony Rapp, "Can you finish? Because it always gets me a little emotional."

"She started to sing and got up on the table," Rapp says. Her energy invigorated the cast and by the end of the preview they were performing the show on stage at full force. "There was no denying the passion of the piece even in this incredible night of sorrow."

After composing himself, Diggs adds, "Simply put, you know good is good. Why are people still buying Ray Charles [records]? Some things can be timeless."

In Diggs' mind, "Rent" is clearly one of them.

"Rent" opens nationwide on Nov. 23.