Lin-Manuel Miranda is slated to compose music for the upcoming Lion King prequel, Mufasa: The Lion King, adding yet another Disney movie to his resume.
The 44-year-old already has quite the career behind him, with multiple Tonys, Grammys, and a Pultizer prize to show for it. Although he’s become a household name, especially for Disney fans and Broadway Geeks, he lives a relatively private life.
Ahead of his next project, here are eight weird, fun, and interesting facts that you may not know about Lin-Manuel Miranda.
1. He was named after a poem
The name Lin-Manuel comes from a poem called “nana roja para mi hijo Lin Manuel,” written by the Puerto Rican poet Jose Manuel Torres Santiago. The poem is a lullaby to the poet’s son, a reflection of the wartorn world he was born into in Vietnam, and praying that he will join his father in a life dedicated to freedom and revolution.
2. He founded a HipHop Improv Group
Freestyle Love Supreme is a hip-hop group that Miranda started in 2004 during rehearsals for his first Broadway musical, In the Heights. Founding members of the rap group include Christopher Jackson, Bill Sherman, and Anthony Veneziale. The group evolved, eventually having its own stay at Booth Theatre on Broadway and a Vegas Residency. Freestyle Love Supreme even had a Hulu documentary in 2020.
3. He was on an episode of How I Met Your Mother
Lin-Manuel Miranda has made a lot of cameos in his career, many of which include spontaneous raps that have no business being that impressive in a sitcom. His various cameos and television appearances include How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, The Electric Company, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and most recently Percy Jackson and The Olympians. Not to mention his various recurring and starring roles across film and television, Lin-Manuel Miranda is everywhere.
4. He’s one award away from the PEGOT
The PEGOT is an achievement earned by people who have won a Pulitzer Prize, an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. Lin-Manuel Mirada won his first Tony in 2008 for In The Heights and later won two for Hamilton. He has also won Grammys for In the Heights, Hamilton, Moana, and Encanto. He has two Emmy awards, one for Hamilton’s Disney Plus Broadway recording and one for the 67th Tony Awards. His Pulitzer Prize came in 2016 for Hamilton. All he needs is that Oscar.
5. He used to be an English Teacher
Right out of college, the professional wordsmith taught seventh grade, according to a tweet from 2016. He only taught as a regular teacher for a year before becoming a substitute teacher while he worked on his first Broadway musical, In the Heights. Before fame, he also worked as a slushie machine operator and at the McDonald’s cash register.
6. He wrote jingles for politicians
While trying to support himself when he was working on In the Heights, he would write political jingles for candidates in New York City. According to The New York Times, Miranda’s father worked as a political consultant who advised candidates like Fernando Ferrer and Adriano Espaillat. Thanks to his dad’s connections, in his 20s, Mirando wrote English and Spanish jingles for political ads for Ferrerl, Elliot Spitzer, and H. Carl McCall.
7. He wrote a musical about a dead pig
Miranda once shared on Twitter that, at 16, he wrote his very first musical. That musical may or may not have been inspired by an in-class biology project. He says the musical consisted of a fetal pig that had been dissected in science class and was seeking revenge. In fact, Broadway star Michael Moore, who was Miranda’s first director in high school, told Playbill that he can still sing tuned from the 20-minute musical.
8. He starred in Mary Poppins, despite hating Mary Poppins
Miranda once told Vanity Fair that, as a child, he couldn’t get through the Julie Andrews classic Mary Poppins. He said that certain scenes in the movie would just make him cry and he didn’t see the movie all the way through until adulthood. He credits his dislike for the movie to his sensitivity to the minor key. “Feed the Birds” would make him so sad that he couldn’t get through it. Of course, later, he starred as Jack in the 2018 film Mary Poppins Returns.
Hopefully, on his next press tour, the composer, actor, and rapper will share more gems of wisdom and hilarious quirks with fans.