Tam Mutu on Billy Flynn, Villains and Finding the Dark Side of Chicago

On his first night as Billy Flynn in Chicago this summer, Tam Mutu eased onto the Ambassador Theatre stage surrounded by those now-famous massive feathers, singing of love while subtly winking at money. It was a fitting entrance for a Brit now starring as Broadway’s quintessential American showman—one whose razzle dazzle hides a darker edge. And you better believe that Mutu is loving every layered moment.

No stranger to bringing complicated humans to life on Broadway, the actor has played both the arrogant Duke of Monroth in Moulin Rouge! The Musical and the romantic Yurii Zhivago in Doctor Zhivago. Before crossing the pond, Mutu made a name for himself in London’s West End, playing Javert in Les Misérables and The Phantom in Love Never Dies. Here, Mutu reflects on inhabiting the ultimate leading man, finding truth in the shadows of his characters and forging a career on both sides of the Atlantic.

You just made your debut as Billy Flynn a couple days ago. How did it feel to join the Chicago family?
We have a wall as you come down the corridor past the stage door, and it has all the names that have played this role. There's some iconic people up there. Every single one of them brought their own version of Billy. I think it's a wonderful thing to be part of history, but with that comes this weight of expectation. It requires different focus and different energies. That’s ultimately what grabbed me—and I had this expectation of how great I had to be on my first night, which is unrealistic, of course. That was the inner fight for me, but overall it's gone great. Everyone's been amazing. The team and the cast are lovely. Everyone’s been very welcoming.

How did you work to throw off those expectations?
For me there’s the double whammy of being a Brit and playing this iconic American role. It adds to that weight of expectation, you want to do this work a service and be really on point with the accent and mannerisms. So I did my research. I looked back at the original script and I wanted to know who Billy was based on. When I watched the show, Billy is pretty much the only character who doesn’t step into vaudeville. Everyone else has their vaudeville moment. I worked to understand why that was happening, which I thought was very clever. For me, I wanted to get in touch with the darker side of Chicago, where you’re staying away from the vaudeville and just connecting with the danger of it and the ruthlessness of these characters. The underbelly of the piece really interests me. I like to play the truth of that and let everything else fall from it.

From The Phantom to Javert to the Duke of Monroth, you’ve played many roles that lean toward villainy. What do you see as motivating these characters?
A villain doesn't ever think of themselves as a villain. That's the way I have to look at it. Each individual person in the world is making choices with a justification for them. They're just doing what they think is right in the situations that come their way. I like playing darker characters, as I feel it reflects humanity. We all have light and dark within us. And obviously there's a lot of dark in the world but without it, there is no light. You need a balance.

Of all the famous numbers you perform in Chicago, do you have a favorite?
For a leading man, you couldn't ask for a better opening number than “All I Care About is Love.” There’s the entrance with all the girls, the feathers and the fans. Of course, there are all these references to love and being sweet and carefree, and what he's really referencing is money and the darker side of things. It’s that paradox that is fun to play.

Let’s take a trip down memory lane. Who were your biggest influences when you were first starting out as an actor?
Growing up, I came late to acting. I was sports heavy as a kid and had the equivalent of a scholarship to play in England for a football academy. So that was what I always wanted to do and I was very good at it, but I hit a wall and got a knee injury. And then things evolved and I ended up picking up local dramatics. I met a lot of new people and friends and it pushed me on to this new track of being involved in theater. It didn't make sense for a long time and I was just riding this wave and it never seemed to stop. So, in terms of having musical theater heroes, that just wasn't the case at all. One of my most profound moments was when I went to see La Bête in New York with Mark Rylance. When I saw Mark perform, it sent shock waves through me. He had a 30-minute monologue and to encapsulate and engage an audience by yourself and be that watchable really hit me. It was intoxicating, to consider that power. That was really transformative.

You got your start in London’s West End, but your theatrical home is now in New York. What do you love most about each?
I love the side streets of London. You can walk down a little road, and it takes you on this whole journey. It's almost like being in Alice in Wonderland. It’s as if you open the door and you're suddenly somewhere else. I do miss that a lot. But in terms of the work, I love working in both places. I'm very fortunate. I feel lucky to have worked in London and New York. Not everyone gets to do that. So I’m very grateful and aware. I don't like to say one's better than the other because I don't think that's necessarily the case. I just think it's another opportunity and another experience whereby you try and embrace it and go on the ride, whatever that is.