Was there ever a moment where you thought, “I got it”? When was the moment in the process where you thought, “I think I might be the Little Mermaid”?
I don’t think I ever felt that way until he told me I was cast as Ariel because I think I just kept a very open mind. And I was so excited to even be going for the role that I was fine with that. … I didn’t know that I would be her until he told me.
I’m really curious about whether Lily James and Naomi Scott gave you advice to be a princess. Did you pass that on to Rachel Zegler? Basically, is there a princess group chat that you guys are on?
No, but we should make a group chat. Honestly. I love Lily James and Naomi and Rachel, who was just the best. I have connected with Rachel a few times in person. I met her, and I just love her so much as a person. For the Oscars, I got to meet Lily for the first time. I had met Naomi twice prior. She’s literally an angel on Earth. They did give me a bit of advice when I was there with them at the Oscars. They were just like, “Listen, you’re in it. You’re strong, You’re powerful. You can do this”—just basically words of affirmation because they know what it feels like to suddenly be taking on this role, this iconic story that everyone loves, and the pressures that come with that. There was absolutely just love sent my way, and I really appreciated that from them.
What has it been like to meet your peers and older Black women who are probably having their own kind of inner child healed by seeing you in this role?
Well, getting to meet peers and especially older women [coming] up to me and [telling] me how the trailers and stuff have impacted them, it’s very surreal. It just makes me grateful and filled with so much joy and happiness and [pride] that I was chosen. It’s very weird though too. … You’re saying all these nice things about me. That’s so cool. I really appreciate it, but I just feel like a regular girl from Atlanta, Georgia. So when everyone’s like, “You’re breaking barriers, and this is history” … I’m thankful, but it’s almost this sense of you’re looking at yourself from outside of a window or something.
