EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Audra McDonald of Beauty and the Beast!

A special thank you goes out to Walt Disney Studios for providing press access and materials for this EXCLUSIVE Interview With Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Audra McDonald of Beauty and the Beast as well as sponsoring my trip and accommodations to the Be Our Guest Event. Opinions expressed are that of my own.

Both Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Audra McDonald have quite the acting resumes. After reading about all of their accomplishments, it is obvious to see why these two professionals were selected to be a part of the iconic production of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.

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Not only did Gugu Mbatha-Raw train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, but she has appeared in “Doctor Who,” and has been in films like “Larry Crowne”, “Concussion,” and most recently in “Miss Sloane”. Of course I will always remember Audra McDonald from her performance on the television series “Private Practice.” but she has also appeared in films like “The Object of My Affection”, “Cradle Will Rock” as well as “Ricki and the Flash”, and is the winner of six Tony Awards®, two GRAMMY Awards®, and an Emmy® Award®. See what they both had to say about their experience of being a part of Beauty and the Beast.

Can you share why you wanted to be a part of this film?

Gugu Mbatha-Raw shared, “Well, for me I was obsessed with the original Disney film. It came out when I was eight years old, I had the cassette tape, made my mom play in the car on the way to ballet and tap and modern, everyday. I knew all the words to all the songs and it is still my favorite Disney movie so I had a very personal connection to it. When my agent called and said they wanted me to play a part in this I squealed down the phone, so loudly. I think it was probably the biggest reaction to getting a job that I’ve ever had. I think that little eight year old inside of me was just so excited and it connects you back to growing up with Disney movies. Then this cast is just phenomenal.”

Audra McDonald revealed, “When I got the call I, I’d known that the movie was being made and I was excited about it and my agent called and he said, ‘so, Beauty and the Beast,’ he’s like, ‘yeah, they’re turning into this, isn’t that great?’ he’s like, ‘yeah, so they want you to be in it.’ I was like, ‘excuse me? That doesn’t make sense. I was like, ‘ what? Why? I mean–.’ But, if Disney calls I would sell churros at the park for them, you know what I mean?…So of course, it’s Disney it’s just an automatic yes. ”

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For Audra, what was the path that lead you to your singing and acting career?

Audra detailed, “It had to do with my parents , I was a really hyperactive child struggling, actually and my parents were struggling with trying to figure out how to help me. I was an over dramatic child and having a hard time in school and whatnot. They went to the local dinner theater one night and saw a little junior troop that performed before the main musical and it was a group of kids.”

She continued, “I loved to sing at home and all that stuff and I had all this extra energy and drama inside of me. They said, ‘maybe this is gonna help her.’ I auditioned for that when I was nine years old and that set me on my path. I really have my parents to thank for looking for something that would be right for me to express who I was and find a way to channel that energy. That’s what started me on my path.”

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What are your characters bringing to the twenty first century version as a multi cultural cast?

Gugu shared, “We’re all just bringing ourselves and thrilled that Bill Condon, the director, had the vision to make it such a diverse cast. It wasn’t really something we discussed which is kind of cool in this day and age, it just sort of is. I’m thrilled about it. “

Audra revealed, “We were doing press yesterday and someone was like, ‘so you guys are, you’re the first and second interracial kisses in a Disney film,’ in live action. Hopefully we’ll get to a day where no one even thinks about it. That’s what we’re aiming for, I’m pleased that Disney recognizes that you’ve got to represent the entire world out there. That’s what they’re doing.”

For Audra, how does it feel to have children that are going to see this version of Beauty and the Beast?

Audra explained,”…When I got cast and I told my daughter, I also have two step son’s so thats four in our house. When I told my sixteen year old that I was doing it, she was like, ‘oh that’s cool.’ and I was like, ‘Emma Watson.’ and she’s like, ‘oh my gaa.’ The kids were most excited about that and that thrills me to no end because Emma’s such an incredible role model.”

She continued, “I was saying in the press conference, my daughter for her sixteenth birthday and her fifteenth birthday, asked for people to make donations to charities in her name. That’s what she asked for and that’s because of Emma Watson. That’s what these kids are learning, if that’s your role model, then go, go, go. To be a part of this film that’s going to be a classic and part of the Disney cannon and also be in a film with someone like Emma Watson who has influenced my kids so much is very important to me and one of the reasons I said, ‘yes.’ …”

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How is it different preparing for your role for the animated parts versus the human parts?

Gugu filled us in, “Well, for me it was just so liberating. I mean, I’ve never been offered a role like this before, I had come from doing some quite intense dramatic roles and the idea of playing a feather duster, was so whimsical and fun. It’s a lot of vocal work in the recording studio and finding not just the singing but finding the voice of the character, working on the French accent with the dialect coach and also just really going back to that childhood thing of like, ‘let’s pretend.’ You’re not limited by your face and your body. You have so much more freedom, it’s just play, really, when you get this huge team who are creating these CGI characters. I just found it incredibly liberating.”

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Audra gave us additional insight, “ Bill Condon is such an incredible leader, and an amazing director. You feel very safe with him, so when you’re doing, especially the vocal work for the characters, it’s just you, the recording engineers and Bill. Bill’s in there with you and he’s saying, ‘okay, now try one like this.’ He’s in there playing with you in a way. It’s truly just make believe and for the wardrobe it was like, ‘okay, she’s kind of trying to get to the staircase at this point so, grunt a little bit.’ ‘grunt like this, okay now she’s just, snore this way, snore this way, snore and sing a high note.’”

She continued, “We had the time and the freedom to just sort of explore and then they take that, and go work with the CGI folks and then the CGI folks bring back something. Then you put on top of that, so it’s a real collaborative effort. It takes a village, it takes a massive village for this one. ”

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Can you guys talk about your costumes or make-up?

Gugu shared, “Jacqueline Durran, who’d done all of Joe Wright’s movies, Atonement, Anna Karenina, incredible costume designer. On my first costume fitting, she said, ‘okay, would you like to meet your object?’ In the room, they had the feather duster on a stand and I was kind of taken aback because Plumette in this film is quite different to the feather duster Fifi, who’s more sort of mop like, in the original.”

She elaborated, “I was pleasantly surprised to see that they made her into this sort of flying dove like peacock like, very dainty creation. In the costume fitting we played around with the bird theme and I had a big tail feather on one of my costumes, a huge bustle which also worked with the period. I had feathers in my hair, we played around with this sort of Marilyn Monroe style wig so it was fun for me to be blonde which is just so outrageous and audacious. It was really just sort of channeling a mixture of playful sort of flirty Marilyn thing with feathers. ”

Audra laughed, “We both got to be blonde but with the wardrobe the first time I sat in the chair and the dress being so large, I couldn’t walk in any regular door to get to set, I had walk sideways and scrunch. Once they started putting the wig on, they put the first part and I was like, ‘wow, that’s big, that’s tall’ and she said, ‘hold on.’ ‘Okay,’ she’s like, ‘ ‘okay,’ and, ‘the top part,’ ‘okay,’ then birds and stuff started going, I was like ‘oh my goodness what is going on?’ It makes perfect sense because once she’s transformed it to the wardrobe, the top of the wardrobe if you notice is her wig and you couldn’t even see them, but this is the detail that Disney pays attention to. The shoes that I wore were the feet of the wardrobe, so if you’d actually seen my shoes, they curled up into the exact sort of way that the legs of the wardrobe even within the design of our make up, and all of it is echoed in our objects that we play.”

She also shared a fun details about her wig, “The wig was literally two feet off of my head and so heavy and the dress was so big. So, not only could I not sit down but I could not hold my head up for long periods of time. The set carpenters built me a lean too. It was a humongous, about three feet taller than that thing of wood, slab of wood that had a bicycle seat. So I could just perch on that and lean back like that between takes because it was also enormous. But we do these things for Disney. ”

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What are you hoping audiences take away from seeing this film?

Gugu shared, “Well, I hope that people will get swept up in the romance and the music is just so iconic. I love the message that beauty is found within, it’s an oldie but a goodie. But really for this film, the idea to look a little deeper, see the human within each and every person, even if the exterior is something that intimidates you or you’re not familiar with. There’s always a human underneath it all and I think to try to connect to somebody’s soul, is really important.”

Audra agreed, “Yes, there’s always the love conquers all, love wins and it’s not about just giving the love but loving yourself too. I think that’s what’s so important and realizing that what you have inside of you is most important and not the outside doesn’t necessarily matter. I’m sure that’s what people are gonna take away from this.”

What was it like to actually see everything come together?

Gugu admitted, “It was breathtaking. I saw it for the first time just two nights ago at the Hollywood premier and to see it with an audience and people are applauding after musical numbers. It brought back all those memories of those songs. There’s a couple of new songs in this version called Days in the Sun and also the Beast has his own solo. It was overwhelming.”

Audra revealed, “I saw it at the London premier and I was so shocked at how moved I was. I really felt that I was watching it as an innocent sort of general audience member, not someone who had been a part of the film. I hate watching myself on film or on screen at all and this I felt completely removed from it. I didn’t really see myself up there, I was just in the world and I was weeping at the end and I was like, ‘I was there, I was in the scene. Why am I crying so much?’ You get swept up, you get absolutely swept up.”

What was your favorite scene or what made you connect with that movie?

Audra shared, “I think it was just the way that the entire film came together. The point where I couldn’t see the seams and I knew where the seams were but I couldn’t see them. In doing that I wasn’t able to critique this and critique that and listen to, I was just swept up in everything , I fell into Brigadoon along with everybody else.”

Gugu added, “I think it’s the power of the score as well, it transports you. I think there’s just something about that music that is so romantic and hits you on an emotional level that you can’t not be swept up in it. ”

For Gugu, Did you perform any of the voice tapings together with Ewan McGregor or was it separate?

Gugu added, “No, unfortunately not, although we did first met in a dance rehearsal and Dan was saying the same thing about learning to Waltz with Emma. It’s a great way to get to know your co-star. We were learning the ballroom dance for the end scene and that was really fun. When you’re both learning something together and stumbling and Ewan is such a generous actor and got such a great sense of humor. It was great working with him. ”

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I truly enjoyed listening to Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Audra McDonald shared their love of this film. These actresses are amazing and gave us great details about what it was like to be in a production of this magnitude. Want to know more about Beauty and the Beast? CONTINUE TO FOLLOW ALONG AS I POST DETAILS FROM THE BE OUR GUEST EVENT.

ABOUT DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST:

The story and characters audiences know and love come to spectacular life in the live-action adaptation of Disney’s animated classic “Beauty and the Beast,” a stunning, cinematic event celebrating one of the most beloved tales ever told. “Beauty and the Beast” is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a Beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart of the true Prince within.

The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s father; Josh Gad as LeFou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp; Ewan McGregor as Lumière, the candelabra; Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Audra McDonald as Madame de Garderobe, the wardrobe; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, the feather duster; Hattie Morahan as the enchantress; and Nathan Mack as Chip, the teacup; with Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.

Directed by Bill Condon based on the 1991 animated film, “Beauty and the Beast,” the screenplay is written by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos and produced by Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman, p.g.a. and Todd Lieberman, p.g.a. with Jeffrey Silver, Thomas Schumacher and Don Hahn serving as executive producers.

Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards® (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the animated film, provides the score, which includes new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as three new songs written by Menken and Tim Rice. Celine Dion will also perform the Original Song called “How Does a Moment Last Forever”.