How I Met Your Mother: The True Story Behind Lin-Manuel Miranda's Cameo

Hamilton star and creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, had one of the best cameos in the history of How I Met Your Mother. Miranda's guest appearance came during the CBS sitcom's ninth and final season in 2013, coming five years after the creation of his first big Broadway musical, In the Heights.

Miranda portrayed Gus in the How I Met Your Mother season 9 episode "Bedtime Stories." In it, Marshall was trying to get his young son, Marvin, to fall asleep while the two were still on an epic cross-country trip to make it to Barney and Robin's wedding. The tired father attempted rhyming bedtime tales while on a bus to Farhampton. Gus happened to be one of the fellow passengers on the bus who had brief interactions with Marshall.

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Most of Gus' dialogue involved rapping or rhyming as a reference to Miranda's career as a skilled lyricist and singer. Marshall, on the other hand, thought the stranger was just showing off. By the end of the episode, the bus got a flat tire and the passengers go outside to watch a nearby fireworks display. The fireworks scene was meant to be a nod to a sequence in Miranda's award-winning musical, In the Heights. The playwright's appearance on the show wasn't just for star status, however. Miranda had a connection to How I Met Your Mother's creators, Carter Bays and Craig Thomas.

Many fans of the series would remember that Ted, Marshall, and Lily first met while attending Wesleyan University. That story detail was based on the fact that Bays and Thomas studied together at the same college and even formed a band before becoming writing partners. Wesleyan has a slew of notable alum, including Miranda who attended the university shortly after Bays and Thomas graduated. As alums, the trio's world collided at some point and the group became friends. With Miranda's notoriety rising following In the Heights, How I Met Your Mother couldn't pass up the chance to feature the jack of all trades.

Less than two years after his How I Met Your Mother cameo, Miranda debuted Hamilton off-Broadway. It then emerged as a monumental hit following its official Broadway debut in the summer of 2015. A year later it received a Pulitzer Prize. While portraying the role as Alexander Hamilton, Miranda also wrote and performed music for Moana, worked on the Star Wars sequel trilogy, and starred in Mary Poppins Returns. Miranda may be done portraying Hamilton onstage but his work schedule is as busy as ever. A film adaptation of In the Heights is set to release in June 2021 and Miranda is also linked to The Little Mermaid live-action remake as a composer.

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