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Paige O’Hara is an incredibly talented voice actor, best known for her role as Belle in Beauty and the Beast. O’Hara voiced the Disney Princess in the 1991 animated classic, and she continues to embrace the role to this day.

And while she is a fan of the 2017 live-action remake starring Emma Watson, there is one element to the Disney reboot that she doesn’t support. Keep reading to find out what.

Emma Watson
actress Emma Watson attends the premiere of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ in Shanghai, China | Visual China Group via Getty Images

Paige O’Hara relates to Belle on a whole other level

According to the voice actor, she has never related to a character more than Belle. In fact, they are so similar when it comes to their gentle/bookish personalities that it “frightens” O’Hara.

“You know what, in my career, this is the only role I’ve ever played that was so much like me that it was almost frightening,” she said in an interview with Cosplay and Coffee. “When they were directing me in the film, they were saying, ‘I want more Paige to come through, I want more Paige to come through!’ And you know normally, as an actress and as a Broadway actress, you hide behind the characters.”

O’Hara continues, adding how vulnerable it can be to play a character so similar to her real-life self.

“But there’s something very vulnerable that—when you have to let yourself come through—who you really are, it was also something that was very challenging- but also very rewarding,” she said. “So pretty much every character trait about Belle is like me, to be honest.”

Paige O’Hara didn’t like this scene in the live-action remake of ‘Beauty and the Beast’

According to O’Hara, she loved the 2017 remake of the Disney film. But there is one thing that she didn’t approve of: the way Gaston is killed.

“I wouldn’t have gone quite as dark with the way Gaston is killed,” she admitted. “I would have rather seen them do a struggling fight rather than the gun (I’m very much against guns).”

Yet fortunately, the voice actor loves the film overall, especially Emma Watson’s portrayal of the iconic Disney character.

“But I loved the film for the most part, and I loved Emma,” O’Hara gushed. “I thought that making her the inventor was brilliant. I loved that idea. And I thought the acting on everyone’s part was really sensational. Dan Stevens is an amazing actor. I was already a fan of his before I saw the film.”

“Yeah, that was the only part I wasn’t thrilled about was the gun shooting,” she continues. “I think they had to make it PG mainly for that scene and the wolf scene. I don’t think you want little tiny kids seeing it– I think the wolf scene would give them nightmares. But it’s a great film. It won the MTV Award for the Best Film, and Emma won Best Actress and actually thanked me in her speech, which I was like, floored by.”

Who is Paige O’Hara’s favorite Disney princess besides Belle?

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‘Beauty and the Beast’: How Much Has Belle Changed in the Live Action Remake?

In an interview with PopSugar, O’Hara was asked which princess she adores the most (besides Belle, of course.) And as the voice actor reveals,

“I love them all, but I love Mulan’s strength. She just took being a strong woman to another level,” spills O’Hara. “She inspired me to take up kickboxing and martial arts at 60 years old. Mulan had an inner strength about her that I think is unsurpassed.”
And according to O’Hara, she thinks Belle and Mulan would be “best friends.”

How cool?

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