Interview: 'It's The Gift That Keeps On Giving': Actor Killian Donnelly on LES MISÉRABLES: THE ARENA SPECTACULAR

After performing in over fifteen countries and regions worldwide, Les Misérables: The Arena Concert Spectacular will be coming to a close at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The concert has been a celebration of the musical’s 40th anniversary, the world’s longest-running musical.

We had the chance to speak with Killian Donnelly, one of the actors playing Jean Valjean, after his first performances of the show last month in London. Donnelly was cast in the show in 2007 as a swing. The year after, he was cast as second cover Javert and Enjolras, later becoming a principal Enjolras in the London company. In 2010, he starred in the Les Miserables 25th anniversary concert at the O2 Arena, playing Courfeyrac. We discussed his introduction to Les Mis, how he has grown along with the show and what it was like to perform in the 2012 film.

---

What made you want to be a part of the concert tour?

There wasn't a want. There was, “Are you interested?” And it was the quickest yes! But looking back on it, it's been a beautiful reward for all the time I've been in the show. It's the gift that keeps on giving, this show. Cameron Mackintosh always says, “We have a lot to thank that little Cosette for,” and it's so true, because it just keeps going onwards. There's a lot of things in life that swing back and forth, but Les Mis just keeps going forward, breaking records and becoming bigger and bigger. So I jumped on that train, and I'll stay on for as long as they have me. I'm adoring it! 

What has it been like returning to the show multiple times in different iterations?

You do find new things with it! I'm getting older, the show's getting younger. I was carrying Marius through the sewers when I was a 35-year-old. Now I'm 41, and I'm going, “Give me a minute, and I'll get you up my shoulder there. Just give me a minute!” But the muscle you're dealing with in your voice changes - it matures more. But there is an interesting thing that when you play Valjean for a year in the West End, it is like a workout. You don't go to the gym, because the show is the gym! And then you leave the show for six months...You’ve got to get it back into your body. 

I’ve never loved the show more than in this version - to perform it without any sort of physicality. To just sing the text rather than the notes is how I like to think of it. This scale - the orchestra, the lighting design, the set - it is the most epicness that it can ever reach. I love every minute of doing this version.

It's the only show I've ever been a part of where it is a family. You're coming back in, you know how it works. It's the only show I arrived on day one of rehearsals, and I'm off book. It's a gift.

And what is it like performing it live versus the movie version that you were also a part of?

Well, theatre will always be my first love! I love the arc across a three-hour show, as opposed to getting the arc across a three-month filming schedule. I much prefer theatre to TV and film, but I love TV and film. And the film, we arrived as alumni of the show in town, so the Hugh Jackmans and the Russell Crows were coming up to us going, “You were in the show, weren’t you? What happens in the show at this point?” And that was a badge of honour we wore, because we know the show like the back of our hands. 

I found myself flying to LA. We rehearsed for a day, then we sang at the Oscars and then we went to a massive party. Then we flew home, and I went back into Billy Elliott. And it was like, “I just sang at the Oscars, singing ‘One Day More.’” So it's this unbelievable world where I'm so grateful, and at no point do I ever think I deserve to be here. I'm always so grateful.

And then I'll be going to Radio City Music Hall, where myself and my wife, two or three years ago, saw the Rockettes at Christmas. We sat there, and we went, “Look at the size of this place!” And I watched the Tonys on TV there, and it's just like, “I'm gonna be allowed backstage. I'm gonna get to stand on stage and sing ‘Bring Him Home’ to New York.” Unbelievable.

What has it been like sharing the role with Alfie Boe and Gerónimo Roch?

I was actually a fan of Gerónimo! I saw him the West End, and I remember just listening to his voice. My Valjeans would have been Colm Wilkinson and John-Owen Jones. I worked with Drew Sarich - he was one of my first Valjeans.

It's a massive role, and it takes it out of you. So when you only have to do the two shows and the other Valjeans do the other two, you get a rest. But I'm very excited that I get to open Radio City. Opening night at Radio City is gonna be very special indeed. 

And speaking of opening nights, you opened at the Royal Albert Hall in London. What has that experience been like?

It was amazing. It sold out! They've printed flags promoting Les Mis, and printed on it is “Sold Out.” It's not a sticker they whacked over it. But the audiences coming are a special kind of audience, because they have Les Mis in their blood. Some of them probably saw the 10th anniversary here at the Albert Hall! And the Bishop [of Digne] is Peter Polycarpou, who is the original Jean Prouvaire, and he was in the 10th anniversary. There are moments where he's like, “Yeah, I remember walking these halls during the 10th!” I'm like, “Tell me all the stories!” It hit me today. Yesterday it was kind of overwhelming because we were all busy backstage. But today, I was just performing the show, and I went, “2-4-6-0-1.” There's a lighting queue where it slightly lit up the Royal Albert Hall, and the people were applauding, and it got a second wave of applause. I was just holding this and going, “I'm on the Royal Albert Hall stage.” It just hit me. It was unbelievable. So that was special.

Do you have a favorite song in Les Mis, either to perform or to listen to? 

I love “The Confrontation” with Bradley [Jaden], because we go for it and leave our larynxes on the stage! It’s an attack towards each other, a fist fight without physicality - it is biting into the text. Some people are like, “I love how this sits in my voice.” It's an attack! Bradley and I bite into that, and I love doing that song with him. I love singing the soliloquy at the start. Everyone can sing “Bring Him Home.” It is a gorgeous moment, and the audiences connect to it, but for Valjean's story, I rip into that soliloquy. It's a very therapeutic role, a very therapeutic show. 

What do you hope audiences take away from this production of Les Mis?

“I was there when I saw Killian Donnelly play Valjean,” because people who I've worked with, my generation, it's Colm. And we are all here because we saw the 10th anniversary. And for the 25th anniversary, Nick Jonas came in to play it in London. Nick and I shared a dressing room for six months, and we became best friends. To this day, he's one of my closest friends! I love him. He had the nerdiest actor head on his shoulders, as I did. We would just talk about, “How do you do this?”

I hope people leaving this show will go to me in twenty years, "I saw you at Radio City Music Hall!” Just something lovely like that.

And finally, how would you describe the show in one word?

Hope. Every single character in Les Mis, every single person on stage, every single person watching Les Mis, in some way or another, holds on to hope for something. It could be huge, it could be small, but every single character at their core is holding on to hope. And I think that's the genius of Les Mis because it's what is brought through. It's epic and it's hopeful.

Need more Broadway Theatre News in your life?
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...