Options for actors/actresses in TLM live action?

[merprincess]

Did anyone else see this video?

YouTube Makeup Artist Patrick Starr transformed this actress into Ariel, and I think visually she makes a stunning fit!





Her name is Madelaine Petsch, she's 23 and plays Cheryl Blossom on the TV Series Riverdale.
I've heard people talking about her in their fancasts of the live action film, and I always sorta dismissed it because usually when people suggest actresses for Ariel, they only think of redheads first - which is great and all, but there are plenty of girls with red hair who might not fit the part as a whole even if they have the hair. But I think especially with this transformation, I can see her as Ariel. 

She did mention they did a musical episode of Riverdale where she played Carrie White in the musical version of Carrie, I couldn't find clips of it so I'm assuming the episode has yet to air but that role requires a lot of vocal talent so I have high hopes! There's a video of her performing backup on a Josie and the Pussycats version of the song 'Milkshake' by Kelis, rather silly and fun and doesn't really show much of her vocal ability but she can carry a tune and sing harmonies and also dance, and she does say she has musical theatre training as a kid: www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD1DXmKZalA

Another name I've seen floating around for Ariel is Holland Roden who was Lydia on Teen Wolf, although she is 31 but I think she could definitely pass for younger as she definitely did on Teen Wolf and that only ended a few months ago.


Couldn't find much of her singing, but many fancasts have included her as Ariel so I thought I'd mention her!

A potential Eric I would LOVE to see cast is Tom Holland, he's 21 and is the current Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and is a fantastic actor, singer, and dancer/acrobat (he played Billy Elliot as a child and has extensive musical theatre training), plus visually I think he'd make a striking Eric!


You can barely hear it, but here he is singing a snippet of Perfect by Ed Sheeran:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBqs_coxxiA
And here's his awesome dance and performance ability!:

Great acting and acrobatics! His American accent is awesome for being British! Also in the screen test with Chris Evans, it was not expected for him to flip like that into his entrance and he wowed everyone on set with that impromptu move!
 (very difficult ballet turns called fouettes & a la seconde turns, he nails them in succession!!)


Another Eric a lot of people want cast is Henry Cavill, currently Superman in the DC Extended Cinematic Universe (I like the princes so far having both played in superhero films, lol!)

The visual resemblance is astounding and being 34, he has a more mature look that fits the character really well too!
This is the only video I could find of his singing voice, and it's in-character chant singing, but hey again at least he can carry a tune!: www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDXNR4Iy5yU

If I had my way, I think Darren Criss absolutely has all the chops necessary for the role and a great appearance to boot! His musical talents are off the charts, you might know him from playing Harry Potter in the Starkid A Very Potter Musical series, also he was Blaine on Glee, and got to sing Prince Eric in the concert version of TLM Live at the Hollywood Bowl! He's 31 and looks right in between mature and youthful:





I mean, come ON! 😍

Ok ok one more Eric! I haven't heard his name pop up but I think Brendon Urie of Panic at the Disco would be an amazing Eric! I only thought about this because visually he looks very similar to Darren (also 31!), but also he has musical talent for days, and not just in the alternative rock/pop genre- his jazzy Sinatra-style vocals in Death of a Bachelor are very Broadway indeed, and he recently played Charlie in the musical Kinky Boots!




In this video he looks particularly Disney-Prince-esque:
 
Here's him singing Death of a Bachelor: 

And him singing in Kinky Boots: 



A couple of questions I have:
What age ranges do you think they're going for with the romantic leads? Ariel is canonically 16, and Eric I believe is 18, but I think most 16 and 18 year olds haven't quite matured yet to be able to look like how Eric and Ariel look in the films and the Parks. At the Disney Parks, Ariels can range as young as 18 to in their early 30's. Generally, the Princesses are around 19-27. The princes can be a little bit older, based on how I've seen them cast. They can range pretty young too, but generally most of the Erics are 21-36. On Broadway, Sierra Boggess played Ariel when she was around 25-27, and Sean Palmer played Eric around when he was 34. Interesting to note the age gaps that always seem to exist between lead couples, so I wonder how Disney will cast the film keeping previous castings in mind.

also I'm still holding out for open call auditions in the rare event that Disney decides to cast an unknown and thinks I'd be a great Ariel for their film but don't mind me and my wishful thinking looool

[merprincess]

Another potential Eric: Timothée Chalamet (22 yrs old)




You might know him from the films Interstellar, Miss Stevens, Lady Bird, and Call Me By Your Name. He is originally a stage actor, did many musicals growing up and has a great voice, and now is mainly a film actor.
Here's footage of him singing/acting/dancing from a musical he did in high school:

And another rather silly video where he raps and dances:


I think there are plenty of options for any of the age ranges Disney would want to go with Prince Eric! Anyone else have any ideas?

[veu]

For Ariel, I think italian actress Miriam Leone could be a wonderful Ariel:

[buckmana]

I don't think having red hair is a necessity for the role, as I know with the right kind of wig (waterproof and high quality/durable), that aspect of appearance can easily be accommodated for.
However, if they're going to keep Ariel's eye color, I would hire an actress with blue eyes, because I don't approve of color contacts due to the detrimental effects they have on eyesight, they make it hard to see.
And it's already difficult enough to maintain focus underwater, I don't think adding the extra difficulty of colored contacts would be a good idea.

I wouldn't want to see JoAnna Garcia (Once Upon A Time's live action Ariel), since she didn't make a convincing Ariel for me.

I'm not sure exactly who I'd like to see, but they'd have to be someone of medium height with good upper body strength and general fitness overall, to accomodate the swimming scenes.
They might need to cast older then the onscreen age, to find someone of the right type, unless they find a teenager who was exercising regularly on a daily basis for years before taking on the role.
The reason for the height limit is because Eric was a little taller than Ariel, so it would be easier to find a actor of the right height if he wasn't standing next to a 183cm girl.
In all the fiction I've seen, those who live in the ocean are usually depicted as having strong muscles, because water presses down so heavily on the body, even basic movements are like weight training.
Imagine if you had weights pressing you down every time you moved and you get the idea of what it's like to live underwater.

An additional concern is if they go younger, they have to make sure it's someone who won't noticeably age too much during production, given it takes like nearly two years to complete the filming of a live action movie.
It would look inconsistent if Ariel was taller at the end of the movie then she was at the start.

Me personally, I'd love to have Auli'i Cravalho (Moana) play the role of Ariel, just to see if she has some live action performance skills.
And then she'll have been two Disney Princesses!



Whomever they cast as Eric would also need a lot of physical fitness, being a sailor and a swimmer.

[merprincess]

buckmana 100% agreed! I think many people are too in their heads about Ariel needing to be a "natural redhead". Heck, half the redheads they mention weren't even born with their red hair naturally! And in film, they can always edit eye color in post if necessary without needing to use contacts. I'm also really on board with Auli'i playing Ariel, I think she'd really knock it out of the park! And it'd be such a cute connection between Moana and Ariel, plus she reminds me of a young Lea Salonga so the double princess thing is very apropos! Also, Rachel Zegler who is currently cast to play Maria in the new West Side Story remake, has played Ariel onstage before and would be phenomenal as her in the film. Of course, personally I'm still on the "please consider casting Lara" train, as that is my biggest dream and I feel like now's the time for me age-wise (I'm right in the sweet spot and not getting any younger!). I'm doing everything in my power to find out about auditions and casting even though I KNOW chances are so slim that anyone might discover me for this project, but you never truly know until you try! This is gonna be a crazy production from what I'm hearing about the locations and visual effects teams on board and the director's vision, so I feel like their priority is finding a stellar cast and then teaching them how to work the set, but of course there are certain requirements like having some degree of physical strength, stamina, being a comfortable mover/dancer, being a competent swimmer, being youthful, fitting the description of "beautiful" that the characters are so often given verbatim in the script, and having a good singing voice. Some of which can definitely be taught and strengthened with training and conditioning. And some of which can't. I don't think Ariel will be cast as a 16 year old per se, but I still feel like she will be on the younger side - late teens being the youngest, early twenties being more likely. I'm hoping more emphasis is put on talent and ability rather than being a dead ringer lookalike for the character. If you can bring these characters to life just with your talents alone, it shouldn't matter if your face doesn't look exactly like the animated counterparts. And some people can look exactly like the character and not be able to carry a tune or breathe life into the character with their acting abilities. Of course, they could strike gold and find perfect people who look and sound exactly like how we'd imagine these characters to be in the real world, but it's unlikely. I'm more interested in what talented performers might be a part of this world that we wouldn't have considered otherwise by limiting how we view casting these characters!

[buckmana]

Just had another thought, what about Paris Berelc as Ariel?


For physical fitness, I can't think of another actress more qualified than Paris.
I watched her show Mighty Med and she did some fairly demanding physical stuff without a stunt double, so I'm thinking she'd be a good choice if they were looking for a strong/athletic actress.
And since her spinoff show (Elite Force) was prematurely cancelled, she's most likely available.
FYI, Mighty Med and Elite Force are Disney shows, so she's already connected to the company.

Plus, she's relatively young, probably in her early 20s by now, so she could still pass as being a teenager I think.

[veu]

Other options: Sophia Lillis, Sophie Turner and Bella Thorne for Ariel. What do you think?


Sophia Lillis:





Sophie Turner:





Bella Thorne as Ariel:

[veu]

Other fan cast:

For Ariel:
Alexis Knapp, Brie Larson, Cara Delevigne, Eleanor Tomlinson, Jena Malone, Karen Gillian, Katherine McNamara, Kelley Jakle, Kimberly Whalen, Melissa Benoist, Molly Quinn, Saoirse Ronan, Sophie Turner, Virginia Gardner, Zoey Deutch.




For Eric:
Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Adam Gregory, Armie Hammer, Christian Cooke, Daniel Sharman, Dominic Sherwood, Douglas Booth, Drew Roy, Finn Wittrock, Ian Harding, Kevin Zegers, Liam Hemsworth, Logan Henderson, Logan Lerman, Matthew Lewis, Sam Claflin.




For Ursula:
Angela Bassett, Carla Gugino, Glenn Close, Kathy Bates, Jennifer Hudson, Mo’Nique Imes Jackson, Merrin Dungey, Octavia Spencer, Oprah Winfrey, Queen Latifah, Viola Davis, Yvette Nicole Brown.