Some auditions take months to crack. This one took about 10 seconds.
That, says director Thomas Kail, was all it took to know that Catherine Lagaʻaia was destined to become Disney’s new Moana. The 19-year-old Samoan-Australian actor beat more than 32,000 hopefuls to land the lead in Disney’s live-action reimagining of the beloved animated hit, which sails into Indian cinemas in English and Hindi on 10 July.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with People, Kail recalled that he knew almost immediately after meeting Lagaʻaia that the search was over. “About 10 seconds,” he said, when asked how long it took him to decide she was his Moana.
The conviction had arrived even earlier. During the film’s Sydney junket, Kail revealed that Lagaʻaia’s first audition tape had already caught his eye when she was just 16.
“She has that thing. You can coach it, but you can’t teach it,” he said, adding that he recognised her star quality from the moment he watched the tape. At a separate video conference, Kail recalled that Lagaʻaia sang How Far I’ll Go before performing two scenes. It was enough to seal the deal.
“She sang beautifully, but I could tell she truly understood the emotion. After hearing her sing, I stood up from my chair and said, ‘I think we found Moana.”
For Lagaʻaia, the role comes full circle. She was just nine when Disney’s original animated Moana premiered in 2016, and she has often spoken about how seeing a Polynesian heroine on screen made her feel seen.
The live-action adventure also marks the return of Dwayne Johnson as the larger-than-life demigod Maui, reprising one of Disney’s most popular modern roles.
Directed by Emmy and Tony Award winner Thomas Kail, the film is produced by Dwayne Johnson, Dany Garcia, Beau Flynn, Hiram Garcia, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. The soundtrack features original songs by Miranda, Opetaia Foaʻi and Mark Mancina, with Mancina also composing the original score.
With a new Moana found in the blink of an eye and Maui back for another voyage, Disney is betting that lightning can, indeed, strike twice when the film lands in cinemas on 10 July.
