Lin-Manuel Miranda lived out stuntman dreams on Mary Poppins Returns

Actor/singer Lin-Manuel Miranda delighted in performing his own action scenes for Mary Poppins Returns because he had dreamed of becoming a stuntman as a child.
The Hamilton creator portrays lamplighter Jack opposite Emily Blunt as the new Mary Poppins in the sequel to the 1964 classic, which starred Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, and Lin-Manuel couldn’t wait to pull off his various stunts while shooting around London.
“I wanted to be a stuntman when I was a kid, but when I was a kid I didn’t realise I’d be scared of getting hurt or going fast and (climbing) heights, but I got to sort of live out all my action movie dreams (on Mary Poppins Returns),” he smiled on U.S. show Good Morning America.
Joking about his stunt skills, he quipped “I think Jason Statham can sleep fine at night, knowing I’m not coming for his job, but I got to do all kinds of stunts I never would have ordinarily done otherwise.”
In addition to living out his stuntman dreams, Lin-Manuel reveals the entire Disney production felt “magical”, thanks to director Rob Marshall’s attention to detail.
“It’s both a lot of work and a dream come true,” he said of the filming process. “I remember Rob Marshall…, it was the first movie he ever saw when he was four years old… and he has such an air of ceremony about things that are special, and he sort of walked us onto (the set of) Cherry Tree Lane for the first time and had music playing. Like, he had the original music (from the 1964 film) playing while we walked on, so we were all like, (emotional).”
“Every day of work was magical…,” Lin-Manuel continued. “I can’t tell you how surreal (it was). One day you’re dancing with penguins and the next day you’re dancing with Meryl Streep, and then the next day you’re riding bikes down Buckingham Palace’s driveway, which is just (insane).”
Mary Poppins Returns, which also stars Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw, as well as a guest appearance by Dick Van Dyke, opens in theatres this week (ends21Dec18).