Last week Laughing Place was invited to participate in a press conference in promotion of Walt Disney Studios’ new film Mufasa: The Lion King, at which the cast of the movie was asked about why their characters are already so beloved around the world and how they approached their performances. Below you will find their enlightening answers.
“At least for me, and I think this is a shared thing, my introduction to [The Lion King was through] James Earl Jones’s original portrayal of Mufasa,” began actor Aaron Pierre, who voices Mufasa in the new film. “It just felt like his voice was so warm; it was so comforting. It was full of strength [and] clarity, and I think that's what I connected to the first time I ever engaged with it. I think the reason the character is so beloved is because he radiated an essence of love and togetherness and unity, and I think we all crave that in our own respective lives and in our own personal communities and in our global community. For me, I was certainly very nervous to contribute to the beautiful legacy that is Mufasa that the great James Earl Jones originated. And hopefully I was able to serve that in a small way.”
“I think the biggest thing was just not to judge him,” continued Kelvin Harrison Jr., who plays Taka, AKA Scar. “I enjoyed him so much in the original version, and I was like, ‘He's so playful, he's so lively.’ All those characteristics still remain true in this. In my first conversation with [director Barry Jenkins], he was like, ‘Just stay present; stay in the moment with Taka and allow his instincts and his natural tendencies and his love for life and people in the community to shine through.’ And I just kind of played it with that, and then put on a nice voice, and you just see what happens.”
“I connected with her right away when I was reading the sides– I didn't know I was auditioning for Sarabi,” said actress Tiffany Boone. “They had a different name for her, so I was just like, ‘Who's this cool chick who's confident and a little sassy?’ I know a lot of times when we would be recording, I would be putting that sassiness on fire… I think that's just naturally in me. So I related to her looking for her tribe and looking for a place, but trying to be tough at the same time with it, right behind the surface. There's a lot of vulnerability [with Sarabi], and I think that's how I am [as well]. So it was fun to play a character that I connected with so much.”
“I think they're kind of outcasts,” commented Seth Rogen about Timon and Pumbaa. “They have a strong bond; they have a good friendship– I think they're very relatable in many ways. I think in a movie that is really about a lot of heroic acts and people really putting themselves out there in spectacular ways, I can't wait for the two guys who were just sitting down and looking around. When I was a kid and saw the original, I always really gravitated to Timon and Pumbaa for sure. Yeah, I related to the loser who farts more than anybody. [laughs] I think they’re relatable for their own reasons– I always just thought they were really funny. There [are] very heavy themes in this film, so I think it's nice and it's amazing how well Barry modulated the heaviness and the lightness. It was really fun to get to participate in that.”
“I'd say we are given a shocking, dangerous [amount of leeway to improvise], considering the epic scale of this film and the fact that it plays all over the world,” added Billy Eichner about Timon and Pumbaa. “Seth and I get to riff so much, and even more surprisingly, the amount of that that ends up in this Disney family spectacular [is] really stunning. And it's really fun. Seth and I, of course, got to do the 2019 version with [director] Jon Favreau, so we had the advantage of having that time to figure out what our versions of the characters were, which was pretty challenging. At the beginning when we started that process, we were walking in incredible, historic, iconic footsteps with Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella and the characters they created. So coming into this one, I think we felt at least a little more confident knowing what we had done in the first one. But yeah, we improvised an insane amount; I love it so much.”
Mufasa: The Lion King is now playing in theaters nationwide.