Do You Like Ike? Daniel J. Watts on Playing the 'Villain' in Tina: The Tina Turner Musical

Daniel J. Watts is bringing the life of Ike Turner, Tina Turner's abusive Grammy-winning ex-husband, to the stage in Broadway's Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. Having previously appeared in eight Broadway productions, this marks Watts' biggest role. To celebrate the new musical's recent opening at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, Watts visited Broadway.com's #LiveatFive to talk with Beth Stevens about reuniting with Tina star Adrienne Warren, playing "the villain" of the story and more.

Watts is new to the production, which transferred from the Aldwych Theatre after its world premiere in London, allowing him to reunite with longtime friend Adrienne Warren. "We worked together in The Wiz at City Center [in 2009] along with Dawnn Lewis," he said. "It's like a family reunion. Adrienne has remained one of my besties, and we trust each other so much which is very important when you're doing a Tina and Ike reenactment. We have this safety between us that has to be there, but it also means that we actually get a lot closer to each other during those moments. We do daily check-ins to make sure we're feeling comfortable and if there's anything we need to alter. We go through a lot in the show and always end with big hugs at curtain call, which is also helpful to let the audience breathe, too."

Ike Turner was abusive to his wife and thus can be viewed as the villain of the story, so Watts acknowledges that not everyone is going to be a fan. "I've heard that I've been booed before," he said. "I get it. Ike's not a likable, funny villain. He's done some pretty horrible things to a real person so I understand when people come in with their arms folded not ready to like this guy. My challenge is not to make you like him, but to maybe help you understand him a little more. Hurt people hurt people. It's never to excuse his behavior but to understand what was behind that behavior that kept everyone working with him. He's a person who had dreams and feelings and wishes that got jumbled up in all of the pain he never let go of."

Watts attributes going to therapy as one of the reasons as to how he's able to get inside the mind of Ike Turner daily. "I know for a fact I wouldn't be able to play this role had I not started therapy," he said. To help "declutter the attic," Watts started The Jam, a solo show about his childhood. "Anytime I start to write or share things about myself, I call it The Jam. It's based on my great-grandmother who made jam from scratch. I've been writing my thoughts and feelings and felt like I should share with others, the same way my great-grandmother shared her jam. Over time it's all accumulated into the show The Jam: Only Child, which is about me going to therapy and breaking open the attic. You must have a cleaned-out attic if you're going to play Ike Turner."

Telling the story of Tina Turner's life comes with the perks of getting to meet the music icon as well as that added pressure. "Tina is royalty," he said. "We know her story, and now we're going to relive the story with her. All I can pray for is that this is a healing moment. I'm hoping to not send her back into 1966. On opening night she came on stage and was very gracious giving me a big hug. She pretended to smack me around, which loosened everybody up, including myself. It's an honor and a privilege to tell her story."

See Watts in Tina, playing at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre!

Watch the full #LiveatFive episode below!