Backstage With… The stars and director of new live-action The Little Mermaid
The Little Mermaid – the cartoon feature-film based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story about a mermaid desperate for life on land – was credited with kicking off Disney’s renaissance in 1989, a period when the company returned to making successful animated movies following something of a slump.
Half set underwater, with big musical numbers and aquatic creatures mixed in with mythical ones as well as those on land, making a live-action version was no mean feat.
The casting of the lead character Ariel had to be right – not only did the actress have to convincingly act as a mermaid, but they would also need to perform beloved songs and spend much of the movie without a voice at all.
Enter popstar Halle Bailey – who with her sister Chloe is one of half of the pop duo Chloe x Halle – was the first person to audition for the role and ultimately the only one to win it.
But her casting led to a racist backlash, with those behind it seemingly ready to believe in mermaids, but only if they are white.
Javier Bardem, who plays Ariel’s father King Triton, is dismissive of anyone who disagrees with Bailey’s casting.
Javier Bardem plays Ariel’s father King Triton. Pic: Disney
“I don’t think we need to give any voice to that,” he told Sky News’s Backstage podcast.
“Seeing it, she’s so technically superior, she’s such an amazing actress, her voice is just ridiculous, but I think what makes her so incredibly watchable and you feel like you’re always with her is her kindness as a human,” agreed Melissa McCarthy, who plays the sea witch Ursula.
“There’s just a little bit of magic in her and I think you feel that, you can’t deny it and I can’t imagine any other human or fish playing Ariel.”
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For director Rob Marshall it was frustrating to see Bailey being judged before anyone had seen her in the role.
“When we cast her there was no agenda, we weren’t looking for a woman of colour, we saw every ethnicity for the role – we just wanted to find the best Ariel,” he told Backstage.
“That was all we cared about and she was the one, it was just so clear, and so I thought these people are so small-minded, to me it feels archaic we’re even discussing skin colour in this era – it’s like from another century.”
“I thought, you know what, just come see the film, in my head I was like, you will see that she’s Ariel, there’s no question about that, and I’m excited for people to see her.”
Read more:
Backstage With… Florence Pugh and Zach Braff
Backstage With… Jennifer Garner
Bailey was the first person to audition for the role. Pic: Disney
For the other actors playing roles that loom large in many people’s childhoods was a balance between paying tribute to what came before and refreshing and modernising for the new movie.
The original Ursula was said to be inspired by the US drag queen Divine and McCarthy says she was definitely inspired by drag for her own performance.
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Ursula in The Little Mermaid based on Divine
“I’ve always been a big fan of drag since high school – it’s such an incredible art form and it’s been around forever and there’s something to that kind of unapologetic, bigger than life, I’m right in your face, I shall not apologise,” she said.
“But also it’s a front for things, so yes, it’s a homage to a certain type of woman, but you’re also kind of poking fun at that type of woman.
“It’s a balancing act and there’s always a drag queen in my heart for all my parts.”
Melissa McCarthy plays the sea witch Ursula. Pic: Disney
For Hamilton star Daveed Diggs who plays King Triton’s advisor – a crab called Sebastian, he was aware that he didn’t want to simply do an impression of the character’s original voice actor Samuel E Wright.
“I was super worried about it until the day we started,” he admitted.
“And then it was very clear that Rob [Marshall] was creating an atmosphere where he really wanted us to bring new things to it and the whole team like Alan [Menken – who did the film’s music] too, every time we were doing anything, it was like, really find what works for you.”
Daveed Diggs plays Sebastian the crab. Pic: Disney
He added: “Everybody attached to this thing is such a fan of the original, so all of that was coming into it, we were getting all that for free, all of the like reverence for this film that we all love, and then they really pushed us to also figure out what our version is.”
Making The Little Mermaid was a huge undertaking with the actors put on specially devised rigs in order to make them look as though they were moving underwater.
And rather than the voice cast of characters such as Sebastian or the fish Flounder being locked away in a booth far from set, they were also present during filming.
For Bardem having Diggs in the room as well as models of the character made a big difference in his performance.
Bailey has been described as ‘technically superior by her co-star Javier Bardem. Pic: Disney
He said: “There were puppeteers and also there were toys. Toys! I was playing with toys!
“But Daveed was there too, to say the lines, so you will play the scene with the actor who’s playing Sebastian, which is amazing.
“The scene will evolve and we’ll go to different places because you have two actors playing it rather than following just one voice.”
The Little Mermaid is out in cinemas in the UK.
Singer Chris Brown has pleaded not guilty to attempting to cause grievous bodily harm over an alleged bottle attack at a London nightclub two years ago.
The US R&B star was arrested at a hotel in Manchester by Metropolitan Police detectives last month, after the singer flew to the city by private jet in preparation for his world tour.
The 36-year-old said he had gone “from the cage to the stage” after he was released on bail in time for the tour.
Chris Brown arrives at Southwark Crown Court. Pic: PA
The musician had been remanded in custody following an initial hearing at Manchester Magistrates’ Court but was freed ahead of his court appearance after paying a £5m security fee to the court.
Brown is accused of attempting to unlawfully and maliciously cause grievous bodily harm with intent to Abraham Diaw at a London nightclub called Tape in Hanover Square, Mayfair, on 19 February 2023.
He confirmed his name and date of birth at Southwark Crown Court on Friday before entering his plea, saying: “Not guilty ma’am.”
His co-defendant, US national Omololu Akinlolu, 39, who performs under the name Hoody Baby, pleaded not guilty to the same charge.
Both defendants are further charged with assaulting Mr Diaw occasioning him actual bodily harm, with Brown also facing one count of having an offensive weapon – a bottle – in a public place. They were not asked to enter pleas to those charges, with a further court hearing set for 11 July.
Last month, Manchester Magistrates Court heard Mr Diaw was standing at the bar of the nightclub when he was struck several times with a bottle, before being pursued to a separate area of the venue, where he was punched and kicked repeatedly.
Around 20 people sat in the public gallery behind the dock for the hearing, many of them fans of Brown.
The singer arrived at around 9am to a large group of photographers outside court and walked to the building’s entrance in silence.
A trial date has been set for 26 October 2026.
Entertainment
Judi Dench, Malala and Stanley Tucci join call for Starmer to ‘end UK complicity’ in Gaza
Dame Judi Dench, Malala and Stanley Tucci are among another 100 famous names who have added their signatures to a letter urging Sir Keir Starmer to “end the UK’s complicity” in Gaza.
Sky News can exclusively reveal the Bond actress, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Conclave actor are among a host of public figures who have added their names to the letter.
At the end of May, Sky News revealed about 300 actors, bands, singers, activists and sportspeople signed the letter, organised by refugee charity Choose Love, calling on Sir Keir to suspend all UK arms sales and licences to Israel.
Dua Lipa, Benedict Cumberbatch and Gary Lineker were among the celebrities to also urge the PM to use all available means to ensure full humanitarian access and broker an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
Celebrities and activists also read out all the names of children killed in Gaza in front of parliament.
But three weeks later, they say nothing has changed.
Dua Lipa, Gary Lineker and Benedict Cumberbatch signed the letter in May. Pics: PA
Other new signatories include actors Florence Pugh and Russell Tovey, Dr Who star Ncuti Gatwa, singer Paolo Nutini, author Michael Rosen, musician Paul Weller, Little Mix members Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall, broadcaster Fearne Cotton, Game of Thrones actress Carice van Houten, Harry Potter actress Bonnie Wright and ex-England rugby captain Chris Robshaw.
The letter urges Sir Keir to “take immediate action to end the UK’s complicity in the horrors of Gaza”, and says children are starving “while food and medicine sit just minutes away”, in reference to Israel blocking aid into the territory.
It says 71,000 children under four are “acutely malnourished” and those who survive starvation “wake up to bombs falling on them”, with more than 15,000 children killed in the conflict so far.
Read more:
Israeli tanks kill 51 people waiting for aid in Gaza
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Ncuti Gatwa, who plays Dr Who, has signed the letter. Pic: Reuters
Actress Florence Pugh has also signed the letter. Pic: Reuters
Actor Russell Tovey is a signatory too. Pic: Reuters
“Violence stamped with UK inaction – flown with parts shipped from British factories to Israel – could be obliterating families in seconds,” the letter adds.
“You can’t call it ‘intolerable’, yet do nothing.
“Every moment this continues, is another moment children die on our watch.
“History is written in moments of moral clarity. This is one. The world is watching and history will not forget. The children of Gaza cannot wait another minute.
“Prime minister, what will you choose? Complicity in war crimes, or the courage to act?”
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Steve Coogan: It has to stop
What has Starmer said and done about Gaza?
In September, the UK suspended about 30 arms export licences to Israel, but government export licensing figures from May show the UK approved licences for £127.6m worth of military equipment from October to December 2024 – more than the total between 2020 and 2023.
Since the first letter was sent, Sir Keir has called Israel’s actions in Gaza – both the blockade of aid and strikes – “appalling and intolerable”.
Some of his own MPs are pressuring him to take further action against Israel and call the 20-month war – which started when Hamas killed 1,195 people in Israel and took 250 hostage – a genocide, but he has not used those words.
On 10 June, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Norway sanctioned far-right Israeli ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich over “repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian civilians”.
They are banned from entering the UK and are now subject to a freeze on UK assets and director disqualifications.
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Gaza crisis ‘acute’ and continuing
Last week, Sir Keir said more RAF jets, including Typhoons and air-to-air refuelers, were being sent to the Middle East after Israel and Iran attacked each other.
On Tuesday, Sir Keir told Sky News’ political editor Beth Rigby he is “worried about the impact” escalation between the two countries will have on Gaza.
Josie Naughton, co-founder and CEO of Choose Love, said: “Since we urged the government to end its complicity in the horrors of Gaza, more people have added their voice to our call. We cannot be silent while children are being killed and families are being starved.
“It took us 18 hours to read the 15,613 names of children known to be killed in Gaza. Every single one of them was someone’s whole universe. Every one of them deserved better.
“The situation is changing by the second, but until the UK government has halted all arms sales and licences to Israel, ensured that humanitarian aid can reach people starving inside Gaza and stopped the killing, they will not have done enough.
“History will remember how we acted in this moment. We beg Keir Starmer to end the UK’s complicity in these horrors.”
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A government spokesperson said: “We strongly oppose the expansion of military operations in Gaza and call on the Israeli government to cease its offensive and immediately allow for unfettered access to humanitarian aid.
“The denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population in Gaza is unacceptable and risks breaching international humanitarian law.”
The spokesperson added: “Last year, we suspended export licences to Israel for items used in military operations in Gaza and continue to refuse licences for military goods that could be used by Israel in the current conflict.
“We urge all parties to urgently agree a ceasefire agreement and work towards a permanent and sustainable peace.”
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