| Tam Mutu | |
| Birth Date: | 30 April 1978 |
| Birth Place: | Hastings, England, U.K. |
| Occupation: | Actor |
| Years Active: | 2001–present |
| Education: | Guildford School of Acting |
Tam Mutu (born April 30, 1978) is an English stage and screen actor. He began his career on the West End in the early 2000s. He was part of the original West End production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies (2010–2011) before starring in the revivals of Les Misérables (2013–2014) and City of Angels (2015). That same year he starred in the original Broadway musical Doctor Zhivago. He returned to Broadway in 2019 with Moulin Rouge! The Musical; for his supporting role of the Duke of Monroth he was nominated for a Grammy Award. On screen, he had a recurring role on the Netflix show Medici.
Mutu was born in 1978 in Hastings, England. He has one sister and played football growing up before pursuing acting.[1] [2] He attended the Guildford School of Acting, graduating in 2001 with a Bachelors of Arts with honors in musical theatre.[3] He is of Turkish and Italian descent.[4]
Following his graduation from drama school in 2001, he was cast as a replacement ensemble member and understudy for Enjolras in the long-running West End production of Les Misérables. In the following five years, he took part in a number of productions with the Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company. He also took part in the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre 2002 theatre season.
In 2010, he was part of the original ensemble of the Andrew Lloyd Webber Phantom of the Opera sequel Love Never Dies. Originally the understudy for Ramin Karimloo's Phantom, he later became the alternate. Following its closure, Mutu went on to star in a Toronto production of Chess.
In 2011, Mutu was cast to co-star in the ill-fated gothic musical Rebecca.[5] Set to be his Broadway debut, the production was ultimately cancelled.[6] A few days following the initial postponement of Rebecca in 2012, he was cast to replace Javert in the West End production of Les Misérables.[2] During his time with the show in 2013–2014, the production was a fan favorite, winning the 2014 Olivier Audience Award with Mutu also awarded for his performance by BroadwayWorld and the West End Frame Awards. He went on to star in the Olivier Award-winning revival of City of Angels which opened at Donmar Warehouse in December 2014.
Mutu moved to the United States in 2015 to star in the original Broadway musical Doctor Zhivago.[2] The production was ultimately short-lived and closed after a month. He starred as Carey Grant in the initial 2015 and 2016 readings of Flying Over Sunset.[7] He took part in the Encores! concert series and regional theatre, and in 2017 filmed the second season of the Netflix series Medici in Italy. Also in 2017, he played the leading role of Archibald Craven in the 5th Avenue Theatre production of The Secret Garden.
He was cast as the antagonist, the Duke of Monroth, in the pre-Broadway engagement of Moulin Rouge! The Musical in 2018.[8] The production transferred to Broadway and opened in July 2019. The production was paused in March 2020; at that time, Mutu contracted COVID-19 and was hospitalized. The production resumed in September 2021. In May 2022, Mutu departed the production with other original cast members Aaron Tveit and Ricky Rojas.[9] In 2023, he played Bill Sikes in the Encores! production of Oliver!
Mutu is noted for his baritone voice.[10] He is married to Kristen "Kem" Martin, a fellow Broadway actor.[11] [12] Mutu was previously engaged to actress Sierra Boggess, with whom he performed in Love Never Dies and Rebecca.[2]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Footballers' Wives | 2 episodes | ||
| 2007 | Doctors | Craig Walton | 1 episode | |
| 2007 | Holby City | Insp. Peter Kelly | 1 episode | |
| 2009 | Zafer | 2 episodes | ||
| 2016 | Blue Bloods | Sgt. Ray Langley | 1 episodes | |
| 2017 | Sherlock | Leonard | Episode: "The Final Problem" | |
| 2018 | Medici | Galeazzo Sforza | 5 episodes |
Selected credits[13]
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Les Misérables | Jean Prouvaire (u/s: Enjolras) | West End replacement | ||
| 2001–2002 | South Pacific | Ensemble (u/s: Lt. Cable) | Royal National Theatre | ||
| 2002 | Romeo and Juliet | Sampson (u/s: Tybalt) | 2002 season | ||
| As You Like It | 2nd Lord (u/s: Orlando, Charles) | ||||
| Oh! What a Lovely War | Ensemble | ||||
| 2002–2003 | Anything Goes | Sailor Quartet | Royal National Theatre | ||
| 2003 | Love's Labour's Lost | Longaville (u/s: Berwone) | [14] | ||
| 2004 | King Lear | Knight (u/s: Edmund) | Royal Shakespeare Company | ||
| Romeo and Juliet | Tybalt | ||||
| 2005 | East | Mike | Haymarket Theatre | ||
| 2006 | The Royal Hunt of the Sun | Juan Chavez | Royal National Theatre | ||
| 2007 | Faustus | Dinos Chapman | UK tour | ||
| 2010–2011 | Love Never Dies | Ensemble (u/s: The Phantom) | Adelphi Theatre | West End original production | |
| The Phantom of the Opera (alternate) | |||||
| 2011 | Chess | Anatoly Sergievsky | Princess of Wales Theatre | Toronto production | |
| 2012 | Rebecca | Maxim de Winter | Broadhurst Theatre | Cancelled Broadway production | |
| 2012–2014 | Les Misérables | Inspector Javert | Sondheim Theatre | West End replacement | |
| 2014–2015 | City of Angels | Stone | Donmar Warehouse | West End revival | |
| 2015 | Doctor Zhivago | Doctor Yuri Zhivago | Broadway Theatre | Broadway original production | |
| 2015–2016 | Flying Over Sunset | Carey Grant | Vineyard Arts Project | 1st Martha's Vineyard reading | |
| 2nd Martha's Vineyard reading | |||||
| 2017 | The New Yorkers | Al Spanish | New York City Center | Encores! concert | |
| The Secret Garden | Lord Archibald Craven | 5th Avenue Theatre | Regional replacement | ||
| 2018 | Hey Look Me Over! | New York City Center | Encores! concert | ||
| Moulin Rouge! The Musical | Duke of Monroth | Emerson Colonial Theatre | Boston original production | ||
| 2019-2020 | Al Hirschfeld Theatre | Broadway original production | |||
| 2021-2022 | |||||
| 2023 | Oliver! | Bill Sikes | New York City Center | Encores! |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Work | Result | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Broadway World UK Awards | Best Performance in a Long-Running West End Show | Les Misérables | [15] | ||
| 2014 | West End Frame Awards | Best Performance of a Song | Les Misérables ("Stars") | [16] | ||
| 2015 | Drama League Award | Distinguished Performance | Doctor Zhivago | [17] | ||
| 2020 | Grammy Award | Best Musical Theater Album | Moulin Rouge! | [18] [19] |