Miguel Cervantes

Miguel Cervantes is the actor who brought Alexander Hamilton to life for over 1,500 performances at the CIBC Theatre in Chicago — the longest-running principal cast member in the Chicago production of Hamilton from its opening in 2016 through 2020, before transferring to the Broadway company where he continued in the title role through 2024. Handpicked for the part by creator Lin-Manuel Miranda himself, Miguel Cervantes became synonymous with Hamilton in the Midwest, earning the distinction of Chicagoan of the Year and establishing himself as one of the most recognizable figures in Chicago's performing arts community. His portrayal of the founding father combined vocal virtuosity, hip-hop precision, and emotional depth in a performance that audiences returned to see multiple times — a testament to the rare quality of an actor who can deliver the same role over a thousand times and make each performance feel immediate, urgent, and new.

From Emerson College to Broadway

Miguel Cervantes's path to Hamilton began in Dallas, Texas, where he grew up performing in local theater before attending Emerson College in Boston — a conservatory known for producing working actors with both technical rigor and entrepreneurial instincts. After graduating, Miguel built his Broadway career through roles in productions that demanded the same combination of acting, singing, and physical performance that would later define his Hamilton tenure. He appeared in the original Broadway cast of American Idiot, the Green Day rock musical directed by Michael Mayer that brought punk energy and athletic choreography to the Broadway stage, and in If/Then, the Idina Menzel-led musical that explored parallel life paths through complex, emotionally demanding storytelling. Each Broadway credit in Miguel's resume reflects an artist drawn to material that challenges audiences intellectually while delivering the visceral theatrical experience that fills seats and creates cultural conversation.

Advocacy and Public Speaking

Beyond the stage, Miguel Cervantes has built a second career as a keynote speaker and public advocate, drawing on both his artistic achievements and his personal journey through profound loss. After the death of his daughter Adelaide from epilepsy, Miguel and his wife Kelly became passionate advocates for epilepsy awareness and research funding through CURE Epilepsy, one of the leading organizations dedicated to finding a cure for the condition. Miguel created the My Shot at Epilepsy Challenge — a viral social media campaign that leveraged the cultural power of Hamilton's most iconic song to raise awareness and funds for epilepsy research. His keynote speeches on resilience, purpose, grief, and the transformative power of storytelling have made him a sought-after corporate and nonprofit event speaker, bringing the same magnetism and emotional authenticity he delivers on stage to audiences in boardrooms, ballrooms, and convention centers across the country.

Chicago as Home

What makes Miguel Cervantes unique among Broadway stars is his genuine embrace of Chicago as home. While many actors treat touring productions as temporary assignments before returning to New York, Miguel planted roots in Chicago, becoming a visible community presence at charity events, local venues, and neighborhood establishments. His Chicagoan of the Year recognition reflected not just his artistic achievement but his authentic connection to the city's culture, values, and people — the same qualities that made his Hamilton performance resonate so deeply with Midwest audiences who saw their own work ethic, determination, and immigrant-story heritage reflected in the character he portrayed eight shows a week.

Photographing Miguel

I photographed Miguel early in the first Chicago run of Hamilton, when the production was doing heavy press and I was commissioned to make promotional images. Chris Lee and a few other cast members came through the studio around the same time. I did my homework before that session, and the homework raised the stakes: Miller Mobley, one of my personal photography heroes, had just shot Miguel and Lin-Manuel Miranda for the cover of Chicago magazine. The question I bring to every session is how to make the best photograph that has ever been made of a person, and it is a harder question to answer when Miller Mobley got there first. One detail I still think about: the hair. Miguel grew it out for the part and was adamant it look natural rather than a wig, but he never really loved the way he looked or felt like himself with it long. We all have our preferences. He also mentioned that he studied a lot of Eminem to learn the role, because the speed and cadence of those lyrics meant genuinely learning to rap to sell the performance. I saw the show four times during that run, three with Miguel and once with his understudy. All of them were great, but it is always a little more special when you know the person on stage, which is one of the reasons I still love shooting theatrical headshots for the people who fill those stages.

The Portrait

This black-and-white celebrity portrait by photographer Michael Schacht — vest, rolled sleeves, shoulder-length hair, and an easy warmth that radiates approachability — captures the same magnetic presence that made Miguel Cervantes a Chicago theater icon and continues to make him a sought-after keynote speaker on resilience, purpose, and the power of storytelling to transform pain into meaning.