Beyonce’s Singing In ‘The Lion King’ Made Co-Star Billy Eichner Cry
Apparently, Beyonce’s vocals in the upcoming live-action version of The Lion King are good enough to move grown men to tears.
Her co-star Billy Eichner was a guest on Crooked Media’s Keep It podcast, where he responded to host Ira Madison III’s joking concerns over Beyonce’s performance in the movie, reports People.
“She’s definitely in the movie because I’ve seen a rough cut. And I’ve heard her sing ‘Can You Feel the Love Tonight?’ with Donald Glover and I’m telling you, it’s f***ing good,” Eichner said.
“And that was never my favorite song to be totally honest… I liked it when Elton John sang it. I love Elton John. I don’t want to give too much away about that, they do not want us talking about it. I will just say that honestly, it made me cry and I was not expecting that.”
Donald Glover stars as the main character of Simba, and Beyonce will portray his friend — and eventual love interest — Nala. The two performers are part of a star-studded cast that includes Eichner as Timon and Seth Rogen as Pumba. James Earl Jones is reprising his iconic role as Simba’s father, Mufasa — 25 years after voicing him in the original animated film.
Eichner called playing Timon “shocking,” “bizarre,” and “terrifying.” The actor admitted that when going up against Nathan Lane’s portrayal of the character, the only thing he could do was make the role his own.
“I will say one thing that helps with that is that my energy with Seth Rogen is very different, naturally, than what Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella’s energy was,” he said.
“They were both coming out of that production of Guys and Dolls when they did The Lion King. They did this very vaudevillian, Broadway, musical theater, borscht belt style, which here and there, Seth and I borrow from but we don’t lean into that as much.”
Disney announced the film in September of 2017, following the critical and financial success of the live-action version of The Jungle Book. According to People, 2019’s The Lion King will use performance-capture technology and computer-generated imagery to depict life-like animal characters. Many songs from the animated musical will remain intact.
Disney has live-action iterations of Dumbo and Aladdin releasing this year, with Mulan and The Little Mermaid currently in production.
The Lion King also features actors Chiwetel Ejiofor, Keegan-Michael Key, Alfre Woodard, John Oliver, and Eric Andre.
The movie is set to open in theaters on July 19.
Billy Eichner Says Beyoncé Is So 'F—— Good' in The Lion King She Made Him Cry https://t.co/Zbd9E7ni6C
— People (@people) March 27, 2019
