Miguel Cervantes is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

actor, singer and activist. He played the role of

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

in the Chicago production of ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

'' from September 2016 until the production closed in January 2020. He played the role in the

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production from March 3, 2020 to January 7, 2024.

Career

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

native, Cervantes graduated from

Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (BTWHSPVA) is a state school, public secondary school located in the Arts District, Dallas, Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. Booker T. Washington HSPVA en ...

in 1995 before attending

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

. Prior to ''Hamilton,'' Cervantes had performed in the Broadway casts of ''

American Idiot (musical) ''American Idiot'' is a sung-through rock musical based on the concept album of the same name by punk rock band Green Day. After a run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009, the show moved to the St. James Theatre on Broadway. Previews beg ...

'' and ''

If/Then ''If/Then'' is a musical with a libretto by Brian Yorkey and a theatrical score by Tom Kitt, directed by Michael Greif. It tells the story of a 38-year-old woman named Elizabeth who moves back to New York City for a fresh start. ''If/Then'' be ...

.'' He was called to audition for ''Hamilton'' while the show transitioned from

The Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...

to Broadway's

Richard Rodgers Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herb ...

and then called back to perform a second time in front of a group that included producers and ''Hamilton'' writer and star

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...

. He subsequently booked the role in the Chicago production. Critic

Maureen Ryan Maureen "Mo" Ryan (born in 1966) is an American film and television critic, writer and reporter. From 2000 to 2018, she was a TV critic at the ''Huffington Post'' and the ''Chicago Tribune''. From 2015 to 2018, Ryan was the chief TV critic for ''V ...

praised Cervantes' "coiled intensity" in the role.

The Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...

subsequently named Cervantes Chicagoan of the Year in theater. After the Chicago production closed in 2020, Cervantes took over the lead role in the Broadway production. He announced in October 2023 that he would leave the role on January 7, 2024. Miranda appeared during Cervantes' final curtain call. Cervantes has also performed in the digital musical ''A Killer Party: A Murder Mystery Musical.'' Cervantes' screen career includes appearances on '' Madam Secretary,'' ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

,'' and ''

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily sur ...

.''

Personal life

Cervantes and his family relocated to Chicago in the years following his casting in ''Hamilton.'' They have one son, Jackson, and a daughter adopted in 2023. An older daughter, Adelaide, suffered from

infantile spasms Epileptic spasms is an uncommon-to-rare epileptic disorder in infants, children and adults. One of the other names of the disorder, West syndrome, is in memory of the English physician, William James West (1793–1848), who first described it in ...

, a severe form of

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

associated with developmental delays, and died in October 2019 at the age of 3. Adelaide's diagnosis happened around the time Cervantes was cast in ''Hamilton.'' Cervantes' wife, Kelly Cervantes, is chair of the Chicago nonprofit CURE Epilepsy, an organization with which Miguel Cervantes is also active. Cervantes took up

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

while in the Chicago production of ''Hamilton'' and, with co-star Andrew Call, conceived the Shu Caddy, a combination tee holder, divot tool and ball marker that can clip onto a golfer's shoe or belt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cervantes, Miguel American male musical theatre actors Male actors from Dallas Activists from Texas Singers from Texas 1976 births Living people