LIN BLOOD LINE
Miranda’s father is focus of documentary
This time, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s father is center stage.
After years of working tirelessly behind the scenes as a political consultant in New York and supporting his son’s Broadway dreams, Luis Miranda is the subject of a new documentary about his life, career and nonstop aspirations.
“I always say in interviews that I’m the mellowest member of my family, and it gets a laugh,” Lin-Manuel, who created and starred in “Hamilton,” told the Daily News. “But I think people will see this movie and that line will be vindicated.”
The film — titled “Siempre, Luis” — highlights Luis’ accomplishments after moving as a teen from Puerto Rico to New York, where he’s worked with politicians like Ed Koch, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer and represented Latino communities.
The documentary, which premieres Tuesday on HBO and HBO Max, also details how Luis and Lin-Manuel jumped into action to raise money for Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria in 2017 and brought “Hamil- ton” to the island after the musical became a blockbuster.
“I grew up in a very small town in Puerto Rico, and I was probably one of the few kids in that town that loved Broadway, that loved musicals, that grew up with all of these dreams of what New York was like and what the U.S. was like,” Luis, 66, told The News.
“The first time I had an opportunity, which was to come and study, I knew a door was opening for a very special reason. Every time a door opens for a very special reason, you have to go through that door, even if you don’t know what’s on the other side.”
Before he debuted his first Tony-winning show, “In The Heights,” Lin-Manuel remembers his father encouraging him to pursue his dream of becoming an artist, even when he had a job offer to become a teacher.
Lin-Manuel immediately recognized similarities between his dad and Alexander Hamilton when he read Ron Chernow’s biography on the founding father, including that Hamilton grew up in the Caribbean and came to the mainland on a scholarship.
The star channeled his father’s relentless spirit as his “Hamilton” stage play came together.
“The tenacity you need to have to make it here from somewhere else was something I understood instinctively because I grew up with it t in my home,” Lin-Manuel, 40, 4 explained.
“That was one of my ways in nto writing the character of Hamilton, and then it was way more a part of it when I play the part, because I know that guy. I know the guy who finishes one task and goes, What three other tasks can I start?’ I’m not that guy in real li ife by any stretch, but I’m related r to one.”
Luis was initially hesitant when his friend John James, who directed the documentary, proposed the project. Being followed around by cameras took some getting used to for Luis, who grew accustomed to pushing others into the spotlight in his political work.
He said it was “very humbling” to be asked to do the documentary, and has no intention of stepping back to reflect on his achievements.
“If I did that, I would not do something else that needs to be done,” Luis mused. “What I try to do is be true to my beliefs, and my family, and my friends, and the places that I love.”