It seems like Disney made the perfect casting when they got "Harry Potter" alum and UN ambassadress for gender equality Emma Watson to play the bookish yet spirited Belle in the live action film "Beauty and the Beast," since her co-star Luke Evans, best known for his role as Bard the Bowman in "The Hobbit" trilogy cannot stop raving about her and her performance.
"She's great," he told MTV. "She epitomizes what Belle should be in the 21st century to young girls; she's a strong woman. We all know Emma as Emma, a strong woman, she has a voice, she uses it very effectively and I admire her for that. She's brought some of that to Belle. She's not just a Disney princess, she's more than a Disney princess, and she has a beautiful sensitive side to her."
Looks can be pretty deceiving, since Emma might look young and gullible, but she's anything but in reality. "She's quite delicate to look at, but she's not at all. She's a really strong, feisty woman and we have some fantastic scenes in the film. I was making her laugh more than she should have been laughing," added Evans.
Add to her beauty and amazing character, Evans can attest to the fact that she has a wonderful voice. He said: "Great singing voice to boot. She's a triple threat. Makes me sick."
The finished filming "Beauty and the Beast" over a month ago, and everybody involved even had to undergo seven weeks of rehearsal just to fine tune their voices.
Evans, who will be playing Gaston in the film said that he is pretty excited for fans to hear his version of "Gaston."
"That took four and a half weeks, five weeks to rehearse," he shared. "I can't even tell you what's in the scene but believe you me it's beautiful. Josh Gad (who plays his sidekick LeFou) and I were very proud of the work that we put in, and it's fantastic. It was very sad when we finished the scene, because it felt that we'd shot a whole damn movie in the time."
Other stars of the film include Dan Stevens as the Beast, Ewan McGreggor as Lumiere, Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, Kevin Kline as Maurice, Stanley Tucci as Cadenza, and Audra McDonald as Wardrobe, among many others.
"Beauty and the Beast" hits theaters on March 17, 2017.
