Lin-Manuel Miranda Reprises HisHamiltonRole, and Breaks Character, During SurpriseSNLAppearance: Watch

Mar. 15, 2025

Lin-Manuel Miranda as Alexander Hamilton and James Austin Johnson as President Trump on ‘SNL’ on Jan. 25.Photo:Saturday Night Live/YouTube

Saturday Night Live/YouTube

Lin-Manuel Mirandastepped back into one of his most popular roles forSaturday Night Live.

The actor, 46, made asurprise appearanceduring the Jan. 25 episode of the late-night comedy series, where he reprised his breakout role of Alexander Hamilton inHamiltonfor a “Founding Fathers” opening sketch. (Timothée Chalametlater acted as both host and musical guest.)

“I say our lives matter not if we lose them in the cause of liberty. What matters is the nation we build,” Miranda said, before he rapped, “‘Cause in America, all men are created equal / America, not England, we doing the sequel / And we will have leaders, but know one thing, in America, we will never have a king."

Johnson then stepped into frame as Trump, interjecting, “Never say Never,” as Miranda and the rest of the cast froze in the background.

Johnson’s Trump went on to make a joke-filled speech, and, at one point, walked right up to Miranda, causing him to break character as he smiled slightly while still frozen on the spot.

“Oh, look at Lin. Look how bad he wants to do a rap,” said Johnson. “He even wrote a whole rap and he doesn’t get to do it. Oh, the audience would have eaten that right up."

“He’s in sniffing distance of an EGOT, and he’s got to stand there until I’m done,” the comedian continued, referring to the acronym for earning an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award.

“Linny, Linny, Linny, Linny," he added, throwing in one more tease, calling the songwriter, “Lin-Manuel Miranda Cosgrove.”

Miranda broke character as Alexander Hamilton while appearing on ‘SNL’ on Jan. 25.Saturday Night Live/YouTube

The musical debuted off-Broadway on Jan. 20, 2015, and later became a cultural phenomenon, winning 11Tony Awards, a Grammy and a Pulitzer Prize.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Speaking about the impact ofHamiltonin 2020, Miranda toldWSJ. Magazine, “There’s nothing new about what’s happening. It’s been interesting to see the different things that pop up, because I was trying to tell this specific story, but I was grabbing from the America I know. So it all hits in different ways, based on where America is.”

Saturday Night Liveairs weekends on NBC.

source: people.com