Thespian Matt Mueller keeps active in multiple ways, but only one gets his spirit pumping along with his heart. “I love bikes so much,” says the year-round cyclist, who owns five. “It’s one of my great joys.” He currently spends much of his indoor time playing grown-up Ron Weasley in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, running at the Nederlander Theatre through February 1 — a 170-minute marathon of a play. Mueller’s well suited for a show about magic and families: The Evanston native’s parents are both actors, as are all three of his siblings, most of whom have Broadway credits. Quips Mueller: “I don’t think we qualify as ‘Muggle’ in any way, shape, or form.”
High-intensity Hogwarts training
“The show is very physical, so everybody’s got to be in peak form. We have a 45-minute full-company warm-up. Sometimes it’s a core day. Sometimes it’s strength yoga based. Sometimes it’s circuits: squats, lunges, press-ups. A lot of cardio, running around, and keeping a ball up in the air.”
Coffee, tea, and him
“I do a morning meditation-y thing, then I make my coffee and turn on WFMT — another way I’m turning into my parents. I used to drink coffee all day. I don’t do that anymore because I need to sleep. I do black espresso in the morning and might have another at noonish, but by 1 o’clock, the coffee stops. Here’s a lovely thing about working with the Brits: The tea is around, so now I’ll have a cuppa in the afternoon.”
Happy trails
“I fell in love with mountain biking in middle school, going out to Skokie Lagoons. There are some amazing places to ride in Chicagoland. Palos Trails in the southwest, that’s the granddaddy of mountain bike trails. Paul Douglas Preserve in Hoffman Estates is pretty new. I also go to Kettle Moraine in Wisconsin, which is gorgeous, with multiuse trails. I love being outside; I think a stationary bike would drive me insane.”