Michael Luwoye

Michael Luwoye is an American actor and singer born on December 19, 1990, in Huntsville, Alabama, to Nigerian immigrant parents who had settled in Alabama in the 1980s. The youngest of four children, he grew up in a household shaped by his mother's career as an engineer and his father's ownership of a wholesale ice cream distribution business. As a child, Luwoye drew, kept journals, and taught himself guitar. He studied music theory and composition at Lee High School in Huntsville before enrolling at the University of Alabama, where a junior-year introduction to theatre redirected his artistic focus. During his college years he took on roles including Queequeg in Moby Dick, the title role in Othello, Hud in Hair, and Joe in Show Boat. He graduated with a B.A. from the University of Alabama in 2013 and relocated to New York City that September.

Before reaching Broadway, Luwoye built his résumé in regional and off-Broadway productions. His regional work included Witness Uganda at the American Repertory Theater in 2014, Marley at Center Stage in 2015, Cardboard Piano at Actors Theatre of Louisville in 2016, Tick, Tick... Boom! with the American Theater Group, and both The Three Musketeers and Once on This Island at Flat Rock Playhouse. His off-Broadway debut came through the Second Stage Theater production of Invisible Thread, a credit that earned him a 2016 Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical.

Luwoye's Broadway career is anchored by his work in Hamilton, where he appeared from 2015 to 2016 in the original production and returned in subsequent engagements. He initially auditioned for the role of Hercules Mulligan but was unexpectedly offered the title role instead. Beginning rehearsals on June 14, 2016, he took over on August 2, 2016, as the alternate to Javier Muñoz following Lin-Manuel Miranda's departure, becoming the first Black actor to perform the role of Alexander Hamilton on Broadway. He also understudied Aaron Burr, first performing that role on October 4, 2016, and on November 16, 2016, he played Hamilton in the matinee performance and Burr in the evening.

Luwoye then led Hamilton's national touring company, beginning a 21-week engagement in San Francisco in March 2017, followed by 21 weeks in Los Angeles, with the tour concluding at the Pantages Theatre on December 30, 2017. He returned to Broadway in the title role on January 16, 2018, with his final performance on February 17, 2019.

His television work spans several projects across different formats. In November 2017, he appeared in the Curb Your Enthusiasm episode "The Shucker," depicted performing as Alexander Hamilton. He also played Hades in an episode of The Magicians on SYFY. In September 2018, he was signed to voice Askari, the founder and leader of the original Lion Guard, in the third season of Disney Junior's animated series The Lion Guard. In 2019, he joined NBC's Bluff City Law in a supporting role. In 2022, Luwoye received a Children's and Family Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Voice Performance in a Preschool Animated Program for his work on Baby Shark's Big Show!