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Ariana DeBose Shares Behind-the-Scenes Videos from Hosting SNL : 'The Universe Delivered'

West Side Story's Ariana DeBose Shines in SNL Hosting Debut
West Side Story's Ariana DeBose Shines in SNL Hosting Debut

Saturday Night Live/Youtube

Ariana DeBose is reminiscing about her time hosting Saturday Night Live nearly one week later.

The 30-year-old actress — who won a Golden Globe Award for her performance as Anita in the Steven Spielberg remake of West Side Story — gave fans an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the week leading up to her big day, sharing a collection of candid photos and video clips to her Instagram on Thursday.

"#tbt Quality @snl BTS content. I said I wanted to challenge myself & the universe delivered. 1st vid is a 1am moment. Last vid entrance realness. Swipe and lmk your favs😍," she captioned the post.

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The carousel of pictures and videos featured one clip of DeBose singing while lounging on a couch, snaps of sound check and running through "last minute changes" with SNL writer Will Stephen, as he wrote on his Story, and footage of the Hamilton alum energetically dancing before taking the stage to perform her opening monologue.

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On Monday, the Schmigadoon! actress penned a lengthy Instagram post about what being on SNL meant to her, writing in part, "I cannot say it enough. Thank you Lorne & @nbcsnl for having me🙏🏾 Thank you to the entire cast for letting me play in the magical sandbox that is studio 8H with all of you. I'm in awe of your talent."

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While DeBose has appeared in a handful of films over the years, including Netflix's The Prom and the 2018 drama Seaside, she received critical acclaim for her performance in West Side Story.

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DeBose, who identifies as Afro-Latina and queer, told People en Español that she hopes to use her growing platform to advocate for and inspire the Afro-Latina and LGBTQ communities.

"I take this very seriously. I am a 'positive vibes only' person, especially in my social media presence," she said, adding, "I don't want to give anyone a reason to put these communities down. That being said, I say what I mean and mean what I say. Afro-Latinos have been underrepresented in our industry."

Continued DeBose: "I am excited to continue to be a part of moving the needle forward so we can reach a day where there is balance in how we represent the beautiful spectrum of Latinos, and not just one 'traditionally Latino' prototype."