Imagine if Lin-Manuel Miranda had tried to do 'Hamilton' first in Hollywood. They would have told him, 'The forefathers weren't Latino or black. They didn't speak in hip hop.' That would never had gotten going in Hollywood ever. But theater let Lin-Manuel him do it, and he created an incredible masterpiece.
To watch Lin Manuel Miranda... you could not make a better spokesperson for Broadway in a laboratory.
We've definitely talked about making a musical episode. We definitely need to make that happen. Let's get Lin-Manuel Miranda on the phone. He's a Star Trek' fan, so I feel we can make this happen.
In theater, you can be free. That's how Lin-Manuel Miranda got to do the most revolutionary piece of theater with 'Hamilton': color-blind casting in roles in which they would never cast Latinos if it were a film or TV show. It just goes to show that Hollywood and cable are way behind.
Imagine Eminem writing a play with complex raps and syllables, and melodies flowing in and out. That's what it was like for me listening to Lin-Manuel Miranda, it was incredible. So it just goes to show that if you put your teaching style in a certain form, that will attract the attention of the people you are trying to teach.
Viola Davis, Patti Smith, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Julianne Moore. I could go on forever listing names. However... my greatest inspirations have, without a doubt, been my teachers, friends, and family.
If we recover something like a functioning, well-informed democratic polity - if it hasn't been wrecked for good by the people who are getting in now, if millennials and teenagers can come to maturity in a world where we hold free and fair elections and agree on what fact is - Lin-Manuel Miranda is going to have a lot to do with that.
I wanna thank MTV and the VMAs for choosing me to be a part of the show because, on this show, if you not an icon or upcomin' icon, you're not on the show, you know?
I think Lin-Manuel deserves absolutely everything that he's getting. He is an extremely gifted guy, a very fine human being, and loves the theater. Loves it.
Because for every Lin Miranda performance, there's some young person out there saying, 'Oh, I can write something like this.' Or, 'I didn't think that this was possible.' It opens a world of possibilities.
He (son Jason) doesn't see me as a (gay) icon, he sees me as his mother who touches his hair too much. No, I love being an icon to anybody. Equal rights, you know?
Being an Olympic Medalist was a team effort. So I am honored to be a part of CBS Sports' WE NEED TO TALK cast of iconic women. Being part of a show with some of my broadcasting and sports idols is an honor.
To be in a show like 'Miranda' that captures everyone's imagination is amazing, but it's hard when people can't see beyond that. I started travelling to North America because 'Miranda' was so popular in the U.K.; I always knew I wanted to challenge myself and not go for the obvious roles.
An icon means nothing to me. I don't understand what it means to anybody actually. It seems like a word of convenience. It seems to attend to the huge success of certain kinds of movies that I did, but there's no personal utility in being an icon. I don't know what an icon does, except stand in a corner quietly accepting everyone's attention. I like to work, so there's no utility in being an icon.
My husband is very fortunate to be part of the government. It is a great honor and privilege, and in no way is his work, or my part in this, any kind of sacrifice.
We've had musical stuff in the show [South Park] forever. That's mostly because Trey's a big musical fan, and he's a great songwriter. He's been writing songs his whole life. So since the beginning, we've always put a lot of musical moments.