Tiffany Boone Didn’t Know She Was Auditioning for Sarabi in Mufasa

When Tiffany Boone intervened for her Moufasa Auditioning, she didn't know she could play the iconic lion queen Sarabi.

“I created the character that was in my head, [but] I didn’t know I was auditioning for Sarabi,” the 37-year-old actress said exclusively. Us every week on Thursday, December 19, discussing Mufasa: The Lion King. “There was a different name on the page. So I was like, “This has to be a new character.” »

As Boone read the script, she thought the character seemed “cool” and wanted to use his voice to reflect that aspect of his personality. Boone was upset once it was revealed she was going to voice the beloved cartoon character.

“So when they told me who I was playing against, I was like, 'Oh, that's a lot of pressure actually,'” she admitted.

Boone shared that she asked director Barry Jenkins if he wanted her to make her voice sound more like Madge Sinclairwho originally voiced the character in the original Lion King from 1994, or like Alfred Woodardwho played Sarabi in 2019 live adaptation. Jenkins, 45, had confidence in Boone's talent and encouraged her to be herself as they developed Sarabi's story.

“I had so much freedom to create the younger version of her and give the other layers to the character. [and] the challenges she went through to become the great queen she is becoming,” she said. We.

As a fan of The Lion KingBoone always considered Sarabi the “perfect” wife, mother, and queen, so she wanted fans to get a taste of Sarabi's personality before she became Mufasa's loyal partner.

“She wasn’t always perfect. She's sassy…she's sarcastic and she makes fun of boys,” Boone said, referring to Mufasa and his adopted brother, Taka, who later becomes Scar. “I think she has a sense of humor. She's really vulnerable, and all of those things are really fun to add to the complexity of the Sarabi that we'll see later.

Boone said fans might be “surprised” to see how Sarabi's relationship with Mufasa (voiced by Aaron-Pierre) unfolds, implying that it is “not such a straight line.” As for rumors of a love triangle between Sarabi, Mufasa and Scar, Boone hinted that fans will “get an answer” when they see the film.

“You'll learn to understand the three of them a lot better, that's for sure,” she teased.

Boone admitted she “still pinches herself” about now being a member of the Lion King family.

“I can’t believe I’m a part of it,” she shared, noting that her younger self couldn’t have dreamed of such an opportunity. “Telling this little version of me that used to sit and watch VHS in my mom's bed over and over again, like, 'You're going to be part of this family, this story.' I feel like his little head is going to explode. My imagination couldn't even dream of this.

However, Boone admitted that there was “definitely pressure” to make sure she and the entire Mufasa team deliver on their promises – especially for fans of the animated classic.

“I know there are a lot of people wondering, 'Are they going to do this justice?' “, she reflected. “But there’s also so much joy, and I think that’s what we were trying to remember when we were recording. And I think Barry Jenkins really led us to find joy in those moments, to have a lot of fun, to let the pressure off our backs and to just do our job as actors.

Mufasa: The Lion King is in theaters now.

With reporting by Kat Pettibone