Theater 2002–2011: In The Heights In 2002, Miranda and
John Buffalo Mailer worked with director
Thomas Kail to revise
In the Heights. Miranda reprised the role when the national tour played in Los Angeles from June 23 to July 25, 2010. He again joined the tour in
San Juan, Puerto Rico. Miranda rejoined the cast as Usnavi from December 25, 2010, until the production closed on January 9, 2011, after 29 previews and 1,185 regular performances. Miranda created other work for the stage during this period. He wrote Spanish-language dialogue and worked with
Stephen Sondheim to translate into Spanish song lyrics for the 2009 Broadway revival of
West Side Story. During these years, Miranda worked as an English teacher at his former high school, wrote for the
Manhattan Times as a columnist and
restaurant critic, and composed music for commercials. In 2003, Miranda co-founded
Freestyle Love Supreme, a hip hop improv group that has toured the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe, as well as the
Aspen,
Melbourne and
Montreal Comedy festivals. The group created a limited television series for Pivot in 2014 and made its Broadway debut on October 2, 2019, at the
Booth Theatre. The self-titled show gained positive reviews.
2011–2014: Bring It On and other theatrical work Miranda co-wrote the music and lyrics for
Bring It On with
Tom Kitt and
Amanda Green. It premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia in January 2011. The musical began a US national tour on October 30, 2011, in Los Angeles, California. It played a limited engagement on Broadway at the
St. James Theatre, beginning previews on July 12, and officially opening on August 1, 2012. It closed on December 30, 2012. It was nominated for
Tony Awards in the categories of Best Musical and Best Choreography. In February 2012, Miranda appeared in
Merrily We Roll Along, in the role of Charley, in an
Encores! staged concert at
New York City Center. His theatrical achievements in 2014 included an
Emmy for the song "Bigger!", which he and Kitt co-wrote for the opening number at the
67th Tony Awards. Miranda wrote music and lyrics for the one-act musical
21 Chump Street, and performed as narrator for the show's single performance at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music on June 7, 2014. It was broadcast on
National Public Radio's
This American Life on June 20, 2014. Later that month, he starred in the June 2014
Encores! revival of
Jonathan Larson's
Tick, Tick... Boom!, under the artistic direction of
Jeanine Tesori. The show was directed by
Oliver Butler. Earlier in 2014, he guest starred in a show by comedy duo
The Skivvies.
2011–2016: Hamilton While on vacation in 2008, Lin-Manuel Miranda had read
Ron Chernow's
biography of
Alexander Hamilton. Inspired by the book, he wrote a rap about Hamilton that he performed for the White House Evening of Poetry, Music, and the Spoken Word on May 12, 2009, accompanied by
Alex Lacamoire. Miranda later said he spent a year writing the
Hamilton song "
My Shot", revising it countless times so that every verse would reflect Alexander Hamilton's intellect.
Hamilton premiered off-Broadway at
The Public Theater in January 2015, directed by Thomas Kail. Miranda wrote the book and score, and starred as the title character. The show received highly positive reviews, and its engagement was sold out. Chernow and Miranda received the 2015 History Makers Award from the
New York Historical Society for their work in creating the musical. The show began previews on Broadway in July 2015 at the
Richard Rodgers Theatre and officially opened on August 6, 2015, earning positive reviews. On the first night of
Hamilton previews, over 700 people lined up for lottery tickets. The
Hamilton ticket lottery evolved into
Ham4Ham, a series of outdoor mini-performances for lottery participants that was hosted daily by Miranda and cast members for over a year, until August 31, 2016. Miranda earned a 3% royalty on each performance of
Hamilton, earning him $12.7 million by July 2017.
Hamilton won the
Tony Award for Best Musical; Miranda won Tonys for
Best Original Score and
Best Book Of A Musical, and was nominated for
Best Actor in a Musical. Miranda won a
Pulitzer for the musical, and the cast album won the
Grammy. In May 2016, for his work in the role of Alexander Hamilton, Miranda received the
Drama League Distinguished Performance Award. with President
Barack Obama. On March 15, 2016, members of the cast of
Hamilton performed at the
White House and hosted workshops; Miranda performed
freestyle rap from prompts held up by President Obama. In April 2016, Miranda and Jeremy McCarter published
Hamilton: The Revolution, a book describing
Hamiltons journey from conception to Broadway success. It also discusses the sense of cultural revolution that permeates the show. Miranda gave his last performance in
Hamilton on July 9, 2016, but vowed to return to the show. In 2017, he announced that he would reprise the role for one night in celebration of President Obama's commutation of the sentence of
Oscar López Rivera. A documentary about the creation of the show, ''Hamilton's America'', featuring Miranda, premiered at the
New York Film Festival on October 1, 2016, and first aired on
PBS'
Great Performances series on October 21, 2016. A taping of the
OBT version of Hamilton was released on
Disney+ on July 3, 2020. On January 24, 2016, Miranda performed the offstage cameo role of Loud Hailer in the Broadway production of
Les Misérables, fulfilling his childhood dream of being in the show, as it was the first production he ever saw on Broadway.
2019–present: Return to theatre In January 2019, Miranda reprised the title role in
Hamilton for a three-week limited engagement at the
Luis A. Ferré Performing Arts Center in Puerto Rico from January 11–27, 2019, for which the engagement was sold out in three hours in November 2018. In a review,
Chris Jones praised "deeper on-stage emotions" in Miranda's reprisal, as well as improved vocal and dance technique than on Broadway. In March that same year he played
King Arthur in a benefit concert of
Camelot at
Lincoln Center opposite
Solea Pfeiffer and
Jordan Donica. In 2023, he wrote additional lyrics for the Broadway musical
New York, New York. In August 2023, it was reported that he had begun work on a stage musical adaptation of the novel
The Warriors (which was formerly adapted into the
1979 film). Miranda worked with
Eisa Davis on a concept album based on the novel titled
Warriors, which was released on October 18, 2024.
Film 2012–2014: Early work Miranda made his feature film debut in the
Walt Disney Pictures live-action film
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012).
2015–present: Disney projects and directorial debut Miranda interviewed with
Disney in the winter of 2013. He submitted a six-song demo package to
Walt Disney Animation Studios. From 2014 to 2016, Miranda collaborated with
Opetaia Foa'i and
Mark Mancina on the songs for
Moana. He later explained that because he was so busy with
Moana and
Hamilton, he turned down other projects "that would have distracted" him, but this served as an "ego check" as
Hamilton became a hit. Miranda also sang the song "We Know the Way" in the film, and recorded a duet with
Jordan Fisher of the song "You're Welcome", which was played over the film's end credits. For the song "
How Far I'll Go", Miranda won a
Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, and received
Golden Globe,
Critics' Choice, and
Oscar nominations. •
Star Wars: The Force Awakens – While working on
Hamilton, Miranda contributed music for the Disney-distributed film
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), writing a song for the scene in
Maz Kanata's cantina, an homage to the classic
Mos Eisley Cantina scene and song by
Figrin D'an and the Modal Nodes. •
DuckTales – Miranda debuted in May 2018 as the voice of Fenton "Gizmoduck" Crackshell-Cabrera in
Disney Channel's 2017 reboot of
DuckTales, and made recurring appearances throughout the show's run. •
Mary Poppins Returns – Miranda plays Jack, a lamplighter, and former apprentice to Bert, the chimney sweep played by
Dick Van Dyke in the original 1964 film
Mary Poppins. This was his first major role after leaving the Broadway cast of
Hamilton. Miranda traveled to London in 2017 to shoot his scenes for the film, •
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker – Following his work on
The Force Awakens, Miranda contributed music for the Disney-distributed film
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019), writing a song for the scene on the desert planet Pasaana, in addition to making a cameo appearance as a Resistance trooper. • The
live stage recording of the original Broadway production of
Hamilton was acquired by
Walt Disney Pictures and released on
Disney+ on July 3, 2020. •
Encanto – Miranda collaborated again with Walt Disney Animation Studios on an animated musical titled
Encanto directed by
Jared Bush and
Byron Howard, with Charise Castro Smith co-directing. The film was released on November 24, 2021. The soundtrack was a success; the song "
We Don't Talk About Bruno" rose to number one on the US
Billboard Hot 100, and Miranda received an
Academy Award for Best Original Song nomination for the song "
Dos Oruguitas". •
The Little Mermaid – In August 2016, Miranda agreed to write songs with
Alan Menken for Disney's forthcoming live-action remake of
The Little Mermaid. Menken announced in July 2017 that he and Miranda had begun working on new songs for the project. Miranda and Menken wrote four new songs for
The Little Mermaid, which had been recorded by April 2020. The film was released in theaters on May 26, 2023. •
Mufasa: The Lion King – Miranda is a longtime fan of
The Lion King (1994) and was eager to work on this prequel/sequel to the
2019 live-action adaptation of that film, but director
Barry Jenkins had to first wait six months for him. Miranda was too busy in the second half of 2021 with finishing the songs for
Encanto, editing his
first feature film as a director and doing press interviews to promote
In The Heights,
Vivo and
Encanto (all released in 2021). This timing conflict explains why in the meantime, Disney Animation chose to recruit
Abigail Barlow and
Emily Bear to write the songs for what was then planned as a direct-to-streaming series and eventually became the feature-length sequel
Moana 2 (2024). Although Miranda by that point had already been working with Disney for a decade, this was his first in-person appearance at a D23 event. A feature film adaptation of
In the Heights spent many years in development. On November 7, 2008,
Universal Pictures announced that they planned to adapt it as a film for release in 2011. However, the project was canceled in March 2011, reportedly due to the fact Universal was looking for a "bankable Latino star" like
Shakira or
Jennifer Lopez instead of unknown actors. In January 2012, Miranda stated that the film adaptation was back under discussion; in May 2016, it was announced that Miranda would co-produce the film with
Harvey Weinstein and backing from
The Weinstein Company. On June 10, 2016,
Jon M. Chu came on board to direct
the film adaptation of the musical. In the aftermath of
numerous sexual misconduct allegations made against Weinstein, his producer credit on the film was removed, with the rights to the film eventually auctioned off to
Warner Bros. for $50 million. While Miranda originated the role of Usnavi, he felt he was too old to star as Usnavi in the film adaptation. Ultimately, Miranda played the smaller role of Piraguero, the "Piragua Guy", in the film. He was quoted as saying the Broadway production was "...a miraculous experience. I went from substitute teacher to Broadway composer. I will never make a leap that big again in my life. I was very content to let
Anthony Ramos and this incredible cast have their own experience." Miranda also served as producer and acted alongside Anthony Ramos,
Corey Hawkins,
Leslie Grace, and
Jimmy Smits. The film was set for release on June 26, 2020, but was pulled from the schedule due to the
COVID-19 pandemic's
impact on the film industry. It was released in theaters and temporarily on
HBO Max on June 10, 2021.
Imagine Entertainment announced in July 2018 that Miranda would make his debut as a film director with an
adaptation of
Jonathan Larson's semi-autobiographical musical
Tick, Tick... Boom!, to be scripted by
Dear Evan Hansen librettist
Steven Levenson. Miranda produced the film alongside
Ron Howard and
Brian Grazer. The same year, Miranda starred as the titular character in addition to providing eleven songs and serving as an executive producer for
Vivo, a
Sony Pictures Animation film directed by
Kirk DeMicco which was released on Netflix in August 2021. Miranda agreed in 2016 to serve as executive producer and composer of
Lionsgate's film adaptation of
The Kingkiller Chronicle by
Patrick Rothfuss, as well as a tie-in television series. In 2022, it was revealed that he was no longer attached to the project. In April 2026, it was announced that Miranda would direct a
film adaptation of the
Dave Malloy musical,
Octet.
Television 2007–2013: Early roles Miranda also worked in television. In 2007, he made a small appearance on the television series
The Sopranos in the episode "
Remember When", and in 2009, he played Juan "Alvie" Alvarez,
Gregory House's roommate in a psychiatric hospital, in the two-hour
season six premiere episode of
House; he returned to the role in May 2010. For
Sesame Street, he occasionally played roles and sang the theme song to the recurring segment
Murray Has a Little Lamb. He was a composer and actor on the 2009
PBS Kids Go! revival of
The Electric Company and appeared in the
CollegeHumor sketch "Hardly Working: Rap Battle", playing himself working as an intern and rapper. He played several television roles during this period. He appeared on the TV series
Modern Family in the 2011 episode "
Good Cop Bad Dog". In 2013, he played the recurring role of Ruben Marcado in the NBC drama
Do No Harm. He later appeared in the CBS sitcom
How I Met Your Mother, in an all-verse episode titled
"Bedtime Stories" that aired in November 2013.
2016–present: Comedy roles and other projects On April 24, 2016, on the TV show
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, at the end of a segment about the debt crisis in Puerto Rico, Miranda performed an emotional rap about allowing the island to restructure its debt. Miranda hosted
Saturday Night Live on October 8, 2016, and played himself in two episodes of
Curb Your Enthusiasm in 2017, receiving
Emmy Award nominations for both appearances. In 2019, Miranda was the guest narrator at
Disney's Candlelight Processional at
Disneyland. Miranda performed the theme song for the
Netflix original series
The Magic School Bus Rides Again, the revival and sequel series of the 1994 series
The Magic School Bus. He played the part of Amy's brother (David Santiago) in the episode "
The Golden Child" in
Brooklyn Nine-Nine. In 2019, Miranda served as an executive producer on the
FX limited series
Fosse/Verdon based on the relationship of Broadway dancer, choreographer, and director
Bob Fosse and his wife dancer
Gwen Verdon. Miranda also made a brief appearance playing
Roy Scheider from
All That Jazz. The series won critical acclaim, and Miranda was nominated for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series as an executive producer. Miranda was cast as
Lee Scoresby in the
BBC series
television adaptation of
His Dark Materials (2019–2022). Daniel Fienberg of
The Hollywood Reporter praised Miranda in his review writing, "[While] I appreciate that Miranda feels initially miscast as Pullman's paragon of cowboy American masculinity...[he] forces you to reconstruct an image of American manliness around him, making him exactly what the series needs". On July 29, 2019, it was announced that Miranda had teamed with TV producer
Norman Lear to make an
American Masters documentary about the life of Puerto Rican actress
Rita Moreno, titled
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It. It premiered at the
2021 Sundance Film Festival. Miranda, in collaboration with
Brittany Howard,
Daveed Diggs,
Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and
Robert Lopez, wrote the lyrics for the song "Checks and Balances", which was sung by Benjy Brooke for the 2021 Netflix animated series
We the People. Miranda appears in
Percy Jackson and the Olympians, which premiered on Disney+ on December 19, 2023, as
Hermes, messenger of the gods, for the first time on season 1 episode 3 and a few times after.
Music Miranda was listed as a producer on the track "Peanuts 2 N Elephant" from Lil Wayne's fourteenth solo studio album,
Tha Carter VI. He provided backing vocals for several tracks on the 2025
Mountain Goats album
Through This Fire Across from Peter Balkan. ==Personal life==