Acting as Ariel in “The Little Mermaid” is considerably more significant to Halle Bailey than simply adding it to her list of accomplishments. With her role in the next live-action movie, the 22-year-old is making history as the first Black actor to play Ariel and the second to be named a Disney princess (Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Tiana in 2009’s “The Princess and the Frog,” was the first). She is well aware of the accountability that entails.
“It’s about time that a Black lady, someone who is simply a member of this great community, plays a role like this. We deserve to see ourselves in the media on a regular basis and to have images that resemble ourselves big screens and everything,” Bailey tells POPSUGAR. “So I’m just grateful that we’re getting to see ourselves finally on such big projects.”
Bailey and her older sister Chlöe made their debut in the public eye as half of the four-time Grammy-nominated duet Chloe x Halle. The two, however, have since gone their separate ways, with Bailey creating a name for herself in Hollywood and Chlöe concentrating on her solo music career.
Bailey claims that trusting in herself has been her hardest obstacle in navigating her job alone. “We need to keep telling ourselves that we are deserving and that we can succeed. Very occasionally, we require that extra push “She clarifies. “I think that’s been the one for me where I’ve really just learned how to shift my perspective and realize that what I’m doing is fantastic, be proud, and clap for myself,” the author said.
On 12 March, the full trailer for “The Little Mermaid” debuted during the 2023 Oscars, and in just 24 hours, it reached more than 108 million views, making it one of the most-watched trailers for any title in Disney’s live-action catalogue, as per The Hollywood Reporter. Bailey recalls her initial reaction to the trailer, saying, “I was so excited. I was screaming. I was just so happy it looked the way it does. I mean, it just makes me really excited because I honestly forgot about some of those scenes that I did. I forgot how long it took, what I went through to do it, and then when I see all the footage again, I’m like, ‘Wow, I really did all that by myself.’ Crazy.”
