Disney is tapping the British talent casting Dan Stevens and Luke Evans in their live action version of Beauty and the Beast .
The news took Twitter by storm on Wednesday night, when the information was revealed by the Hollywood Reporter exclusively and picked up by other entertainment news outlets. Fans couldn’t be happier with the casting of the two rising stars.
Stevens and Evans join fellow British actress, Emma Watson ( Harry Potter ), who will play The Beauty, Belle, making it an all English cast thus far. According to Variety , the actors are in the salary negotiation process at the moment.
Earlier on Wednesday, Luke Evans sent out a tweet informing his followers that he was cast as the evil Frenchman, Gaston.
Luke Evans to Play Gaston in Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ (EXCLUSIVE) via @Variety http://t.co/MOYoheI1zF
— Luke Evans (@TheRealLukevans) March 4, 2015
A few hours later, Dan Stevens hinted at the news that would follow soon thereafter with this clever tweet.
— Dan Stevens (@thatdanstevens) March 5, 2015
For both Luke Evans and Dan Stevens, Beauty and the Beast will be a complete departure from anything they have been involved with in movies, although Luke has vast experience in musical theater, where he spent the first part of his career. The Welshman starred in stage productions of Rent, Piaf, Miss Saigon , and La Cava , among others. In other words, he can sing.
Even though Dan Stevens has not been cast in any musicals thus far, his voice is well known in the audio book world, were he has a long list of titles under his belt. He also started his career in theater — as most Brits do — and then moved on to television and the big screen. Stevens’ breakthrough role was that of Matthew Crawley in the super popular period drama Downton Abbey .
Not too many details are known as to whether the live action version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast will be a musical or not. However, an excited Emma Watson hinted that we could see some singing, on a Facebook post this past January.
“I’m finally able to tell you… that I will be playing Belle in Disney’s new live-action Beauty and the Beast ! It was such a big part of my growing up, it almost feels surreal that I’ll get to dance to ‘Be Our Guest’ and sing ‘Something There’. My six year old self is on the ceiling – heart bursting. Time to start some singing lessons. I can’t wait for you to see it. Emma xx.”
Luke Evans and Dan Stevens’ stars are still rising in Hollywood, but they are surely making a name for themselves and these roles could prove to be the key to bigger name recognition. Emma Thompson also joins the cast for Beauty on the Beast , as Mrs. Potts. Stay tuned for more news on additional casting.
[Photos by Rob Kim/Getty Images]
