There are roles that actors play, and then there are roles that play the actor. For David D. Wilson, stepping into the mane of Mufasa in the North American Broadway tour of The Lion King has been both. A Toronto-born performer whose path wound through church praise teams, film sets with Denzel Washington, and the magical world of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Wilson arrived at Pride Rock not just as a seasoned artist, but as a new father navigating the same lessons his character imparts every night. With a voice that earned him a second audition before his agent even knew he could sing, and a secondborn child who entered the world the same week the show went into tech, Wilson’s story is the kind you genuinely cannot write. As The Lion King returns to the Detroit Opera House from March 12 through April 5, Wilson speaks candidly about the weight of portraying a Black father on stage, the personal trauma the role has forced him to confront, and why he believes Black love is worth celebrating — every single night.
When you step into that mane and onto Pride Rock, what part of you has to rise in order to become Mufasa?
What audience members get to experience is a very genuine and very specific father. I am lucky enough that I am not only playing a father, but I am also a father to two young children — a baby and a toddler. A lot of the life lessons that my character Mufasa wrestles with are also things that are on theme and on brand with what David wrestles with. For example, the other day, I had to teach my son the value and the quality of being honest, and what it is to not lie, and to do these things without fear of any reprimand or repercussions. What audience members get to see is Mufasa working these things out and trying to understand and wrestle with the weight of the decisions that he makes — just as I would. I would like to say every part of me shows up. You get to see every part of that.
The Lion King has welcomed over 25 million theatergoers across North America and has run for 23 years on tour. What does it feel like to carry a role that exists inside that kind of historic global legacy?
It is a huge honor. I don’t take it lightly when I say that I stand on the shoulders of those who have come before me. And that’s not just embodying all of the players, all of the performers, all of the excellence that the tour represents — I’m looking at it from the entire picture of what the story and what The Lion King represents. From Broadway to the international tours, Europe and Asia, the UK production and so on and so forth, there is so much excellence and legacy in what surrounds The Lion King. I’m just glad to be a part of a cog in that wheel.
How do you keep a performance so intimate and personal when you’re part of something that massive?
People are coming in and they get to see the world through the view of a father and son, or a king and his kingdom. If we treat it as the interactions we’re having with our scene partners, our fellow actors, I think it only becomes this huge, overwhelming phenomenon and spectacle — which can almost serve as a distraction, if you allow it to be. I don’t think about, “Oh man, there are 2,000 or 3,000 people sitting in the audience.” What I do try to do is make it so that we’re letting you into our world. The play also does itself a service of being so spectacular, so colorful, so masterfully done, that the performance doesn’t feel like an invasion of privacy. It feels like a huge, open-arms welcome — as you will see in the opening number.
How did you get into theater, and how did you land the role of Mufasa?
I’ve been around for a little while. I’m from Toronto, and my first foray into this world professionally — I played a photo double and a stand-in in a movie called John Q. I was about the age of the child actor, so I was his photo double and his stand-in, which meant that I got to watch arguably the greatest actor of our generation — Denzel Washington — at work. If that is one of your first experiences, it’s going to leave a lasting impression.
From there, I started in professional theater. My first professional theater credit would have been Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and that was after I had done school, lived life a little bit, experienced things — heartbreak, failure — and decided that this is essentially what I wanted to do. Growing up in the church, singing was always a part of me. I led praise and worship at my local church, and that gave me the confidence to become the singer that I am.
Then I heard that The Lion King was coming to town through my agent and a couple of friends. I put my hand up and told my agent I was very interested in the opportunity. At that point in time, he had no idea that I could sing — at least not as well as I could. I remember that conversation: he asked me to send a demo reel, and of course you always have to stay ready so you never have to get ready. I sent it over, and he was just like, “Where have you been? Who is this David Wilson that I obviously didn’t know about?” I was given the opportunity to audition for Mufasa, and I really did knock it out of the park.
Life has a way of coming full circle. To add more fairytale magic to this already magical story, my one-year-old was born the same week we were going into tech. Nine months from my first audition, we were opening the show. I had the amazing privilege of witnessing the birth of my secondborn while opening the show in my home city.
What song did you sing at your audition?
I sang “A Change Is Gonna Come” by the illustrious Sam Cooke. That’s a tenor song, and as an actor you need to always have a prepared piece ready. That was my thing — okay, you want to hear something spectacular? Although I don’t think that day it was very spectacular, it was enough to get their attention and for them to trust the show in my capable hands.
You’ve appeared in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and other major productions. How does portraying Mufasa stretch you — emotionally, vocally, spiritually?
I’m gonna try not to get emotional as I speak, because one of the things about being Mufasa — portraying this Black father, especially in this day and age — it’s always so close. There are elements and themes of Mufasa that I’ve carried into my fatherhood. There are elements and themes of Mufasa that I’ve had to face when dealing with my own trauma, dealing with my own past. The challenge is always trying to be as present as possible on stage. I am walking through fatherhood as I’m portraying it, and that requires a certain sense of honesty when playing Mufasa — when being Mufasa — that I don’t think any other role has ever challenged me or forced me to really look at.
I was watching Finding Nemo the other day. I’ve seen it so long ago, but now watching it as a father — even a movie like John Q, you can’t get me to watch it anymore, because the elements and the themes in which it touches… Whereas before, as a child, I wouldn’t really understand. Now, as a father, understanding what it means to sacrifice, understanding what it means to love unconditionally — there is no depth, there is no end as to how far I would go to protect my child. Those three — Finding Nemo, John Q, and The Lion King — all encompass that sacrificial love. That is something that David Wilson not only understands, but is almost willing to do if that is what is required.
There is no other show that I’ve ever done that has encompassed that level of love, attention, care, sacrifice, and honor. Black love is worth being celebrated. Black love is worth being honored, and I am so glad that I get to do it in this capacity every night.
As a Black man portraying a character that symbolizes leadership and generational wisdom, what responsibility do you feel?
I just try to show up as authentically, as myself, as possible. There is a very real fact that there are audience members who may not have seen a Black father — and that could be because of different worlds, different circumstances. Being Mufasa, for a lot of people, it might be the first time they’re seeing a Black man occupy the role of father. And I’m not alluding to a broken home, but more so that there’s simply not a lot of racial diversity in some spaces. The only impressions some people have is what they see on TV or what the media feeds them. This is an opportunity and a call that I get to honor by embodying someone of such stalwart stature and character.
The circle of life is one of the show’s most iconic themes. What has your journey toward this role taught you about faith, timing, and purpose?
The theme of everything being connected, everything being encompassing — almost uniform — what I’ve witnessed is that my faith is what keeps me grounded, and that’s what affirms me. As a father, that’s what affirms me as a performer, as a Black man. We get to see all of those elements in the small things. We get to see it when we look at the circle of life. We get to see it when we look at Rafiki’s wisdom and what she passes on. Knowing that, ultimately, everything works out — I’m not gonna finish the scripture, but everything works out for good. That’s the beauty of storytelling. You get to see all of those things connect.
What do you hope families — particularly young boys watching you on stage — take away from seeing you as Mufasa?
That they can do it too. I remember having an impression from one of the first Black stage plays that I had seen. I remember thinking, “Hey, I think I can do this.” It doesn’t seem like such an impossibility. I’m hoping that I get to empower not only Black artists, but Black people in general. I just hope that some way, shape, or form, they get to see what it is that I do, and they are touched and excited about it just as I am.
The other day, we got to do a performance for fifth graders — the entire audience was filled with fifth graders and their caretakers, teachers, principals. The way in which we were all filled with so much joy, because we get to see art pay its dividends in real time. Adult audiences don’t give that immediate feedback — they already know the rules of society and how to behave in theater spaces. You couldn’t get those fifth graders to be quiet, and we loved every second of it. I was in “Circle of Life” in tears, like, oh my goodness, we don’t know what core memories we’re making for these people. I hope that every performance, I am able to leave a lasting impression, the way in which audience members have left on me.
How can Detroit audiences get tickets, and how can fans follow you?
You can buy your tickets online at lionking.com and look at the tour — they all have tickets and links there. In terms of meet and greets, that is definitely something set up, so you’ll be able to see and meet us. And you can follow me on Instagram at @DavidDLancyWilson — all one word. That’s where you’ll find me.
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