Lin-Manuel Miranda Says His Dad and Alexander Hamilton Share a Similar 'Relentlessness'
Vivien Killilea/Getty Lin-Manuel Miranda and Luis Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda drew on someone close to home for his portrayal of Alexander Hamilton.
On Tuesday, the actor opened up about his upcoming HBO documentary Siempre, Luis, during a joint interview with his father, Luis Miranda, on Today. In the segment, the Tony winner revealed his dad was the perfect example of the legendary founding father.
"I didn't know that [for] Alexander Hamilton, you were channeling your dad this whole time," host Hoda Kotb told the playwright.
Lin-Manuel replied, "I think it’s a certain relentlessness. You see it in the documentary, but [Luis] doesn’t even have the patience for sleep."
"When I was reading [Ron] Chernow’s biography of Hamilton I recognized that that was a trait not far from my family tree [that] I could draw from for my performance of Hamilton, and as I was writing him," the star said.
RELATED: 10 Historical Easter Eggs from Hamilton You Might Have Missed
Siempre, Luis is an ode to the Puerto Rican immigrant and activist and follows the story of his move to the United Sates and his career fighting for Latino communities in New York City.
Directed by John James, the documentary features conversations between Luis and Lin-Manuel. In the trailer for the film, the Hamilton mastermind calls his father a "relentless motherf—er."
As Lin-Manuel told Kotb during the interview, "I'll never forget, we were with a family member on my wife’s side of the family, and my dad had a little Bluetooth in his ear and this family member said, ‘There’s links that show those aren’t great for your brain,’ and my dad said, 'Then I’ll live a short but more efficient life.'"
Siempre, Luis is now available to stream on HBO and HBO Max.
