Words: Lauren Sams. Photography: Jason Bell
“It’s daunting
to remake
a beloved
film like
Mary Poppins.
I think it’s very
smart not
to do
a reboot”The first rule of celebrity interviews is not to ask the same old
questions everyone asks. But when it comes to Lin-Manuel
Miranda, it’s hard to hold back. So, when isHamiltoncoming to
Australia? The answer is “at some point,” which is vague but
hopeful. It’s also extremely polite, given that this interview isn’t
about Miranda’s Tony Award-winning, record-breaking, cultural
atom bomb of a musical. No. It’s about what comes next, when
you take the life story of one of the US founding fathers, Alexander
Hamilton, turn it into a smash hit hip-hop Broadway musical, blow
everybody clean away, and turn your sights to other things.
Specifically:Mary Poppins Returns.
The film is a sequel to the 1964 Julie Andrews classic;
Emily Blunt plays the titular Mary, and Miranda is
Jack, a lamplighter and Mary’s love interest. “It’s
daunting to remake a beloved film like
Mary Poppins,” he says. “I think it’s very smart not to
do a reboot, it’s following on from the story.”
Miranda, who one imagines could have his pick of
roles, was drawn to the project for the chance to
work with director Rob Marshall (Chicago) and
co-star Blunt, who he says is “so generous with
every member of the cast and crew”.
Miranda says he was one of those lucky kids who
“always knew” what he wanted to do. His a-ha
moment? Watching The Little Mermaid. “When
Sebastian the crab sang ‘Under The Sea’, it was like
my life before then was black and white and my life
after that was in colour. I don’t know what it is about
that song and that moment but it was the most transported I have
ever felt in a movie theatre.” At university, he started a hip-hop
troupe, Freestyle Love Supreme (more on this later) and wrote
a draft ofIn The Heights, the musical which would first bring him
popular and critical acclaim.
Nearly 10 years later, in 2008, it opened on Broadway and
went on to win 13 Tony Awards. From there he worked onBring It
On: The Musicaland in 2012, he began performing a show then
known asThe Hamilton Mixtape. Three years later it was born
again asHamilton, and the modern musical changed forever.
Since Miranda left the production in 2016, he’s won a Pulitzer for
it, been nominated for an Academy Award (for the songs he
wrote for Moana), written music for Star Wars: The Force
Awakens, been nominated for an Emmy for hostingSaturday
Night Liveand, in an almost too-perfect full-circle moment, is now
composing music forThe Little Mermaidreboot. “My job is to be
the biggest fan ofThe Little Mermaid. Done.”
Married since 2010 to his high school sweetheart, lawyer
Vanessa Nadal, and a father of two, Miranda says getting the
work-life balance is just as tricky for Broadway royalty as it is for
the rest of us. “We struggle with that just as much as anybody on
earth, really. When you have two kids it’s sort of divide and
conquer – like I’ll run after that one, you take that one.” He
laughs. “We’re figuring it out every day.” I ask him what thesecret is to being with one person for
such a long time – how do you keep
the romance alive? “I have no idea.
Take holidays? Actually, that’s where
I started writingHamilton,onvacation
one year. My wife made me go, we
hadn’t been on holiday for such
a long time. But then I got this idea for
Hamilton, and I had to run with it. So
maybe that’s not right. That was not
very romantic for my wife.”
Miranda is known for his work
promoting charitable causes. He
released the song “Almost Like Praying” to aid Puerto Rico after
the devastation of Hurricane Maria, and next yearHamiltonwill
open on the island to promote tourism there and hopefully raise
“millions”. He also recently fought to reclaim the film rights to
In The Heights, which were owned by The Weinstein Company.
“It was important, as a man, to stand up and say I wanted the
movie out of those hands. And now we’re back on track, and
Warner Brothers have the rights. The hope is to film next summer.”
Miranda reassures us once more thatHamiltonwill definitely
make it down under. “I love Australia,” he says. “I was there about
10 years ago, maybe more. I got my first tattoo in Melbourne.”
More than getting his first ink, Australia is a reminder of how far
he’s come, he says. “I don’t think I’ve ever told this story before.
When I was in Freestyle Love Supreme, we were in this comedy
relief show in Melbourne. Nobody knew who we were, we
were literally filler. And I’ll never forget it because as they did the
live promo for the next ad break, the announcer says something
like, ‘Coming up next... Eddie Perfect! Tim Minchin!’ And then the
camera pans to us and the announcer clearly doesn’t recognise
us at all, so he says, ‘And... shitloads more!’ So that’s who we
were for a long time: Shitloads More.” He laughs. “I love the
history of being unacknowledged and unappreciated in
Australia. I wouldn’t trade it for the world!”E
Mary Poppins Returns is in cinemas January 1WithMary Poppins Returnsco-star Emily Blunt