'I know some people are furious with Marius because he doesn't love Eponine back!' Felix Mosse on bringing Les Misérables to Norwich and being part of a classic tragic love triangle.
Sibling rivalry is to thank for Felix Mosse's stellar career: when he mocked his sister's tap-dancing for Chichester Festival's Youth Festival she challenged him to prove he was better.
So he enrolled and the rest is history: "That's really where it started," he said, "my career is based on me insulting my sister!"
Felix has glittering CV: he's been ensemble in The Book of Mormon, Dean in Love Me Tender, Alex in Aspects of Love, Brad in The Rocky Horror Show and has taken a lead role in Cameron Mackintosh's Les Misérables, both in London and now on tour.
The production will be at Norwich Theatre Royal from March 4 to April 4.
"Les Mis is the most epic thing I've ever done, it's a joy to be part of. When that big red flag flies and you sing One Day More, there's nothing like it," said Felix, who plays Marius.
"I hadn't seen it before I was in it. I always thought to myself, 'I'll go at some point...' When I finally did see it, I got it. THIS is why it's run for so long, because it is SO good."
Playing Marius is a dream role for Felix, one that sees him fall in love across the barricades and swept along with the passion of his first romance and the People's Rebellion of France.
The love triangle at the centre of the musical is one that divides audience opinion: should Marius be with Cosette or with Eponine?
"The romance with Cosette is quite rare in musical theatre: it's very innocent and naïve. And then there's Eponine: what Marius finds in Eponine is not what Eponine finds in Marius. If Marius could see she felt that way and could communicate with her, things could be fixed.
"Eponine is fantastic. It is hard to watch it happen."
Felix has been performing in musical theatre for six years after working in television and film (he played a vampire in the sequel to Lost Boys) he is now relishing every minute of being in Les Misérables, a show he says is breathtakingly detailed.
"It is almost impossible to comprehend just how much work goes into what you've paid money to see on stage. Every aspect of the production, whether it is crew, wigs, make-up, creative, cast...it's had hours and hours of time and effort put into it," he said.
"It is so fulfilling to bring it all together. It's three hours of really dark intense subject matter. It breaks your heart but it also brilliantly leaves audiences with a sense of hope, that everything will be ok when tomorrow comes."
Felix is looking forward to coming to Norwich and to spending enough time in the city to get a feel for it.
"It's always great to get to know somewhere and not have to pack up and leave almost straight away. Lots of other people in the cast have spent weeks in Norwich and love it, so I am looking forward to being there," he said.
"I love the fact that Les Mis has been running for longer than I've been alive. It's a piece of theatre that has endured and will endure - it's about the story, not the people in it.
"There's an old saying among the cast of Les Mis that you never really leave it, that one day you'll come back. I'm 27 now and playing one of the youngest characters in the show so I could come back and play a different role. It would be an honour."
In addition to a hugely successful stage career, Felix is also a keen writer: it's in the blood, his mother is Kate Mosse, author of nine novels and short story collections including the multi-million selling Languedoc Trilogy.
It is no surprise, therefore, that he has read the Victor Hugo book which Les Misérables is based on, which boasts an impressive chapter for every day of the year.
"The book is so dense and very heavy and brutal but I would recommend that if you have the time to invest in it, you should," he said.
"If Hugo hadn't written it, there is possibility that this period of history might have been glossed over. So this is more than a show, it's part of history."
Book at www.theatreroyalnorwich.co.uk or call the box office on 01603 630000.
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