Catherine Laga'aia Lands Moana Role Over 32,000 Auditions as Friends Mistake Reveal for AI
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 9
Catherine Laga'aia Lands Moana Role Over 32,000 Auditions as Friends Mistake Reveal for AI
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Jul 9
Summary
19-year-old Catherine Laga'aia said friends thought Disney's announcement that she would star in live-action "Moana" was an AI prank after she abruptly vanished from school and moved from Australia for filming.
32,000 actresses submitted audition tapes for the role, and Laga'aia nearly skipped trying out because she had little experience, worked at Target and saw the chance as "putting in for the lottery."
2023 Hollywood strikes left the process "radio silent" for a stretch, making her fear the film had stalled before Disney moved ahead with the remake, due in theaters July 10.
Auli'i Cravalho, who voiced Moana in the 2016 animated film, returned as a producer and welcomed Laga'aia, whose first movie role became a personal test of performing, singing and living far from home.