The Cast of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Talk About Their Characters and Share Amusing Stories From the Set
I recently had the opportunity to attend a press conference for Disney's upcoming live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. I took my daughter to see the film beforehand and I thought it was great! I'll have a review up on the site for it prior to the film's release. In the meantime, I've got a few things to share with you involving the cast of the film and the characters they play.
Emma Watson, Luke Evans, Dan Stevens, and Josh Gad were all in attendance, and while there that talked about the characters they play in the film and share stories from the set of the film. Gad definitely had the funniest story out of all of them and it involves the anti-semitic horse he had to work with in the film.
Before we get to that, though, Watson talked about her version of Belle and modernizing her for a new generation of young girls:
"You know, it’s just a start. I mean, it’s really remarkable to play someone that I’m almost sure had an influence on the woman that I have become. I think the first time I saw Paige O’Hara sing Belle (Reprise), you know, it’s kind of the I want song of all I want songs. And I just immediately resonated with her. I mean, I was so young I didn’t even know what I was tapping into but there was something about that spirit, there was something about that energy that I just knew she was my champion. And I think when I knew I was taking on this role, I wanted to make sure that I was championing that same spirit, those same values, that same young woman that made me a part of who I am today. And so, you know, every time we would address a new scene that Bill or Steve or Evan had put together, you know, I just kind of went, I just always had the original DNA of that woman in mind, you know, and I had my fists up, you know, I was ready to fight because she was so crucial for me. And you know, it was just taking what was already there and just expanding it. And I love that in our version Belle is not only kind of awed and doesn’t fit in, and you know, you see her reading, and you see her not really a part of the community. In our film she’s actually an activist within her own community. She’s teaching other young girls who are part of the village to read, and you know, moments like that where you could see her expanding beyond just her own little world and trying to kind of grow it, I loved that, and yeah, that was amazing to get to do."
Watson did a fantastic job in the film and I loved her portrayal of Belle. Stevens talked about bring the Beast to life and what he physically had to endure, especially with his big dance number with Belle:
"Well, it was a very physical engagement, I think just to support that muscle suit on stilts was a challenge that I’d never really encountered before. I’ve definitely been taking a more physical approach to my roles in the last few years and just training myself in different ways. I think with the backstory we decided that the prince before he was the Beast was a dancer, that he loved to dance, and so I trained myself like a dancer and learned three quite different dances for this movie... there was a lot of work dancing in stilts. And getting to know Emma, first and foremost, on the dance floor was probably, you know, I think it’s a great way to get to know your costar, and I’m going to try and do with every movie I do now, whether there’s a waltz in the movie or not. But no, I mean the trust that Emma had to place in me that I wouldn’t break her toes, and also it really became part of the, you know, that sort of crucial part of the title really, the 'and the' bit, you know, and that’s sort of the essence of a waltz being two people in this whirlwind, you know, and learning about choreography really, the storytelling through dance, not just getting up and dancing but actually, you know, really – really telling a very crucial part of the story in that big turning point. So yes, lots of physicality."
That definitely sounds like it would have amusingly difficult for any actor. The conversation then turned to Evans, who was asked about Gaston and how he's a villain that doesn't think of himself as the villain. In this case, Gaston thinks he's a hero and the actor explained how he approached playing the character:
"Well, I just think a villain shouldn’t start out as the bad guy. A villain should end up being the bad guy, and I think with Gaston, outwardly, you know, to a lot of people in that village, he is the hero. He’s a bit of a stud, you know. He’s got the hair, he’s got the looks, he’s always impeccably dressed, not a bad singing voice. He’s got a great pal who makes everybody, you know, support him and sing about him. And I wanted the audience to – in a way, I just thought, let’s make them like him a little bit first, so that when the cracks start to appear, which they do very subtly, even from the door slam, you know, there’s something inside of him that he’s like, I’m not used to this, this isn’t how it goes, you know, this is not what she’s supposed to be doing. And although he keeps believing that Belle will change her mind, that’s where the cracks appear in my thought process and then slowly, you know, the jealousy takes over, and who he becomes, especially Gaston as opposed to other Disney villains, he has no book of spells, he has no magic powers. He’s a human being, and he uses his status within that village to rouse a crowd and he does it all from just being himself, which is quite terrifying in a way. So I played on that, I played on the humanity of the character as much as he is larger than life. There was a lot to pull on, and obviously he was a war hero of sorts, we decided, didn’t we, Bill, from the past. That’s why his murals are all over the pub that he drinks in. And there is a slight soldier, this animalistic soldier, in him when he finally fights the Beast on the rooftops. You see this man out for blood, and it’s a scary moment to see the arc of somebody who was the loveable buffoon of the village to become the Beast almost, the monster."
Gaston was my favorite character in the film. Evans played him perfectly. I don't know why, but I wasn't expecting that from him. Finally, Gad talked about his horrible horse experience and explained why the horse he used in the film was an ant-Semite, saying:
"Well, I’m going to get comfortable for this. So it’s interesting. I learned a couple of great lessons on this movie, one of which is that Jews don’t belong on horses. Specifically overweight Jews. My horse was an anti-Semite, and he interestingly enough they would call action, and the horse that they told me was trained for this movie but I believe they found in the wilds of England... So Luke and I are walking into the village on our horses, and on action all our horses need to do is walk side by side, it’s so simple. Luke’s horse does it. The two of them worked on The Hobbit together, Three Musketeers, have this incredible background."
He goes on to share his nightmarish horse experience saying:
"Mine is a cold-blooded killer. And he proceeded to moonwalk, he walked backwards. Then, he ran through multiple extras in the village, ran around – I didn’t even know it was possible – but ran through these like pillars around, up and back again. I heard 'cut' and I heard laughing, and the laughter was coming from the horse’s trainer, and he came up to me and he goes, 'I’m so sorry. I’ve never seen this happen before.'And it was so sad. It made me feel so awful about myself. Ironically, my horse’s name was Buddy. That is a true story. He’s nobody’s buddy. I’m begging Disney to press charges against him, and I’ve told my agents to never send me another script with a horse in it again."
If there is ever a Beauty and the Beast sequel, Gad says he'll be driving a DeLorean. That comment got the biggest laugh of the press conference. Beauty and the Beast is set to be released on March 17th, and I think fans of the original are going to love it.