Halle Bailey is receiving immense praise and applause from the entertainment industry heavyweights thanks to her show-stopping performance in Rob Marshall’s directorial 2023 American musical fantasy film The Little Mermaid. The newly released film starring Bailey as Ariel is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1989 animated project of the same name.
The film is receiving an overwhelming response and has grossed nearly $250M at the global box office. According to the latest reports, her co-star Jonah Hauer-King, who plays the charming Prince Eric, suffered a scary accident during the shooting of one sequence.
Halle Bailey’s ‘The Little Mermaid’ Co-star Nearly Drowned Filming a Sequence
Halle Bailey is a multihyphenate who began her career as a singer and now steadily trying to build a career in Hollywood. She has proved her acting genius in her recently released titular film, as Bailey played the role of mermaid princess Ariel.
While it’s natural that filming some of the scenes in the movie demands extra care and attention, Bailey’s co-star Jonah Hauer-King, (who is playing her love interest in the movie) nearly drowned while shooting a sequence in the movie.
Speaking with Seventeen, Hauer-King said,
“I just can’t get the floating aspect; some people seem to do that really easily that comes naturally to them. I just sink to the bottom.”
He also told Hollywood Reporter that at the beginning of the film’s production, he nearly broke Halle Bailey’s leg, as he shared,
“I nearly broke [Halle’s] legs whilst we were filming the underwater tank stuff when Ariel saves Eric. I had my big boots on, and I was kicking Halle in the shins by accident. So she was very brave that day, and I’d probably remind her of that [decades from now] and ask her if she still has the bruises.”
Rob Marshall’s directorial The Little Mermaid stars Halle Bailey in the titular role, next to Jonah Hauer-King, Daveed Diggs, Awkwafina, Jacob Tremblay, Noma Dumezweni, Art Malik, Javier Bardem, and Melissa McCarthy.
Halle Bailey Shares Her Experience Playing Ariel in The Little Mermaid
In a recent interview, Halle Bailey shares her experience playing Disney’s mermaid princess Ariel. She claimed she was super emotional knowing she got to play the lead role in the titular film.
Also Read: Disney Made Halle Bailey Do Brutal Weightlifting With Her Head for ‘The Little Mermaid’
Speaking in length with Collider, the Let It Shine star shared,
“Oh, my gosh, I was just sobbing. I was crying. We had celebrated my sister’s birthday the day before, so we had rented an Airbnb and were coming home, unloading everything in work mode.”
She continued,
“And then, I got this call from (director) Rob [Marshall]. I don’t answer unknown numbers, so I was like, whatever, I’m not gonna answer it. And then, my baby brother comes running to like, answer your phone! I was like, okay. So, I answered it, and then Rob was like; hello, I’m looking for Ariel. I was like, oh, my gosh! and was just crying for the whole day.”
Halle Bailey is perhaps at the pinnacle of her career. She has proved she can kill any role with her charismatic personality. Bailey has done an incredible job of playing Ariel effectively and effortlessly in the titular project.
The Little Mermaid is now in theaters.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
