This year marks the 30th anniversary of the release of Disney's iconic animated classic 'The Lion King' in theaters. That same year, 1994, actors Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. were born, two weeks apart in London, England, and New Orleans, LA respectively.
So it seemed like destiny when the two would pair up to play the young versions of the iconic Mufasa and his villainous brother Scar, known as Taka, in his youth, in 2024's 'Mufasa: The Lion King.' However, this isn't the first time the two have united to play kindred spirits with opposite views, as earlier this year they played civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X in Nat Geo's anthology series 'Genius.'
During an interview with The Latin Times in Miami, they seemed at ease with each other, with the banter that only good friends can afford. They were even being playful with each other, faking punches and teasing each other. It wasn't hard to see them as Mufasa and Taka growing up together, although they didn't really have that many voice recording sessions together.
And while 'Genius' came out nearly a year before 'Mufasa,' Pierre pointed out that they originally met in costume on the set of 'Genius,' "We actually met first on 'Lion King.' So, the relationship that we had begun to establish at that time was the basis of our relationship for going into 'MLK/X. 'And 'MLK/X' was the first time we actually had met in person... But that's where the friendship really blossomed and flourished." With Harrison Jr. adding, "And we never did scenes together in Lion King after MLK; we only worked separately after that."
Pierre and Harrison Jr. roaring to the top
'Mufasa' is premiering at a time when both actors were experiencing a meteoric rise to stardom. Outside of starring in this new film of the 'Lion King' franchise, Pierre was just coming off the success of the Netflix thriller 'Rebel Ridge,' which saw critical acclaim and held the top spot of Netflix's Top 10 for two weeks in a row.
Now he is gearing up to play the DC superhero Green Lantern alongside 'Friday Night Lights' star Kyle Chandler in HBO's 'Lanterns.' When asked which characteristic of Mufasa he would lend to the super hero, he said "fierce determination," although he thinks it is something that both characters have in common.
Meanwhile, Harrison Jr. will star in the Pharrell Williams biopic 'Golden,' which will premiere next year, and starred as the iconic blues musician B.B. King in 2022's hit biopic, 'Elvis.'
Both still can't believe they are voicing characters that, as adults, were played by James Earl Jones and Jeremy Iron, respectively. "I don´t even like to hear my voice now," admitted Harrison Jr. after he realized that people could be thinking about Iron when watching 'Mufasa'.
These are their first big voice-actor roles.
For Pierre, at least, there isn't much difference in the preparation for live-action and animated roles, stating, "I think there's a lot of similarities between doing something that is animation versus doing something that is live-action. And that is that you want to serve the character and bring that character to life in the most full and nuanced way... So although it's in a different medium per se, it's the same work ethic, and it's the same passion we can bring."
Harrison Jr. admits that for him it was about "finding who Taka was before, finding his humor and his real personality, before becoming so spicy.
'Mufasa: The Lion King' hits theaters on December 20th, and you can watch the full interview here.
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