Star turn led Lin-Manuel Miranda away from ‘safe path’

“Remember who you are.” One of the most quoted lines from “The Lion King” is Lin-Manuel Miranda’s life motto.

He is, of course, the composer, lyricist, actor, filmmaker, all-around nice guy who owns three Tony Awards, two Emmys, five Grammys and a Pulitzer Prize.

But Miranda nearly achieved none of that, because of well-meaning parents who wanted him to do things like eat and pay the rent.

“I have two wonderful, supportive and very practical parents who were like, ‘You’re really talented and really creative, Lin. You should become a lawyer. Take the safe path.’ ”

The 44-year-old who created “Hamilton” and “In the Heights,” plus wrote the soundtracks for “Moana” and “Encanto,” doesn’t do safe.

“I knew I wanted to make movies and write shows. If I’ve learned one thing in life, it’s that once you find your place — and you can find it at any age — but once you know what’s right for you, then you have everything,” he says.

Miranda’s latest project is writing original tracks for “Mufasa: The Lion King.” The film from Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins hits theaters this weekend.

Three decades after the classic “The Lion King” was released in 1994, the much-awaited animated musical drama “Mufasa” serves as a prequel. It tells Mufasa’s origin story, which begins as an orphaned cub focusing on his friendship and events that result in his reign as one of the greatest kings of the Pride Lands. It includes his relationship with his brother Taka, who later becomes the infamous Scar.

The soundtrack includes seven new tracks. “You want the music to serve the story, and you want it to feel like it’s part of this rich legacy,” he said during a media event. “At the same time, there’s a joy to adding your own voice to this tradition. That’s what makes this project exciting.”

The movie’s ensemble cast includes Beyonce, her daughter Blue Ivy Carter, Donald Glover, Seth Rogen and Billy Eichner.

Miranda is married to lawyer Vanessa Nadal, his high school crush, and they have two sons, Sebastian, 10, and Francisco, 6. His good life tips:

Play your part

Miranda acknowledges that doing the music for the next “Lion King” was a bit daunting. “Oh, man. I mean, ‘The Lion King’ is classic. That original ’94 soundtrack is immortal,” he says. “It’s no skips from Elton John and Tim Rice, and then Hans Zimmer’s incredible score. … If this had been that first movie, I think I would have been very intimidated, but there’s been an entire world of ‘Lion King’ music now. There is the incredible Broadway musical — one of the longest running shows on Broadway. It felt like an amazing world to play in.”

Emotional journey

“The first time I read the ‘Mufasa’ script, I read Taka saying, ‘You know, I have a secret. I always wanted a brother.’ He makes a sacrifice so that he could have a brother. That’s when I had that first lump in my throat.”

Gift of inspiration

It might seem trivial, but Miranda says certain movies in his childhood gave him jolts of inspiration. When he was 9, he saw “The Little Mermaid” three times in the theater. “I kept dragging my parents back, insisting that I needed to see it again and again. They were fine with it. I can’t explain how it changed my life, but it did,” he says. “I was that kid jumping on the desk in the fourth grade singing all the songs. … We have to encourage creative inspiration. For me, it was watching Sebastian the crab do his calypso number under the water. It just knocked my socks off. And now, it reminds me how important it is to inspire your kids.”

Lesson learned

A math statue he won in 11th grade has a special place next to Miranda’s Tonys, Emmys and Grammys. “I was a straight C and D student in math, but one great teacher named Ms. Yalos turned it around and allowed us to do creative projects to demonstrate that we understood the principals being taught. I got a B and a little statue. It meant the world to me.”

‘Everything is possible’

“I have two little kids. Their imagination is so ridiculously limitless,” he marvels. “Everything is possible. Everything is pretend.” He tries to capture that feeling in his work. “I think the job of the artist is to sort of just protect that instinct, protect your imagination, protect that impulse that we’re all born with. I definitely feel that way when writing. … The first audience I’m trying to please is the kid who saved his VHS cassettes of ‘Little Mermaid’ and ‘Lion King.’ I’m always trying to create the sense of wonder I felt when I first saw those movies as a kid.”

Through kids’ eyes

Miranda says that he loves to watch movies with his kids. “They’re obsessed with who’s the good guy and who’s the bad guy, like most kids. They want to understand the world. We have conversations where we talk about how no one is born a good guy, no one is born a bad guy. We are good choices and bad choices. Sometimes, our experiences lead us to make the wrong choices. We are good and bad impulses. And no one is just good or bad. … I think to be able to have deep conversations with your kids is so joyous. That’s what I love about movies. You can use the characters as a way to talk about the real world.”