5Q: Les Misérables — Hayden Tee

Les Misérables returns to Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre, bringing with it the soaring score and sweeping storytelling that have made it one of the most celebrated musicals in the world. Adapted from Victor Hugo’s monumental novel, the show spans decades of love, revolution, sacrifice and redemption, culminating in the Paris Uprising of 1832. With its themes of justice, mercy and moral reckoning, Les Misérables continues to resonate as powerfully today as it did when it first premiered.

Stepping into the formidable role of Inspector Javert is Hayden Tee, a New Zealand-born M?ori (Ng?ti Kahungunu, Ng?ti T?wharetoa) performer whose international career has taken him from the West End to Broadway and beyond. Having portrayed Javert in multiple productions, Tee brings depth and nuance to the relentless officer whose rigid belief in law and order sets him on a collision course with Jean Valjean. For him, Javert is more than an antagonist; he is a man defined by certainty, unraveling in the face of grace.

Javert is often seen as the embodiment of rigid law and order. Opposite Jean Valjean, he is locked in one of musical theater’s most famous moral duels. What do you think audiences today — especially in a city like Minneapolis — are responding to most in that conflict?

I believe the most profound lesson we can draw from the moral duel between Valjean and Javert is that human beings are inherently nuanced. Everyone believes they are doing the right thing based on their own lived experiences and trauma. Valjean learns from the Bishop that life isn’t lived in black and white; Javert ultimately discovers this same truth through Valjean at the end of his story. In a world that often demands we pick a side, audiences respond to the realization that “right” and “wrong” are rarely as simple as they seem.

As a M?ori, openly queer performer, you bring lived experience to roles written in a very different era. How do your own identities shape your approach to Javert, a character wrestling with such rigid morality?

I tap into my M?ori mana (spirit) and draw on the warrior strength of my Ngati Kahungunu and Ngati T?wharetoa lineage to fuel Javert’s conviction. In M?ori culture, we introduce ourselves through our pepeha — a story of our ancestors’ journey that acknowledges our waka (canoe), iwi (tribe), river, mountain, hap? and marae before we ever mention our own names. We do not center ourselves; we acknowledge all who came before us. This is my gateway into Javert’s faith. He believes he is a pawn in a divine plan, doing his Lord’s work.

You’ve mentioned being cast as the “bad guy,” even relating it to your life before embracing takat?pui. How does embracing the weight of takat?pui impact how you approach these antagonistic characters?

I’ve realized I’m often cast as the antagonist because I can access the commitment required for those roles — my “inner warrior.” Takat?pui (queer identity) existed long before Les Misérables was written. Before gender and sexuality were demonized, Indigenous cultures like the M?ori celebrated their queer siblings. I firmly believe a performance should be a vessel for the audience to project their own stories. I invite people of all identities to explore the objectives and inner conflicts driving the character’s actions.

How has your understanding of Javert evolved over multiple continents, and has this national tour revealed a new layer of the role?

Every time I step into his boots, I discover something new. Lately, I’ve enjoyed exploring his vulnerability — showing a man masking desires and deep-seated fears to project the image he believes his Lord requires. Poor guy; he’s more human than he lets on.

You’ve maintained parallel careers as a performer and a skincare founder. Do these outlets activate different creative parts of you, or do they feed into one another?

They are two sides of the same coin. I get the same creative rush from formulating a new skincare product as I do developing a character. However, the business side of @rub.cosmetics — marketing and customer acquisition — is a constant learning curve. It turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks! The most fulfilling thing is finally being in a position to help people and the planet whilst elevating Indigenous knowledge.

“Les Misérables” runs at the Orpheum Theatre February 17-22. For more information and to purchase tickets, head to hennepinarts.org.