The Disney company love working with Idris Elba and the feeling is definitely mutual. Elba voiced Chief Bogo in Zootopia, Fluke the seal in Finding Dory, he is currently Hemidall in the Thor franchise, but the character most Disney fan love Elba as is the voice of the villainous Shere Khan in 2016’s live-action/CGI hybrid the Jungle Book. Apparently that’s not the only classic Disney villain Elba wanted to play.
In an interview with PEOPLE Editor-In-Chief Jess Cagle Elba said he was almost Gaston in Disney’s highly successful remake of Beauty and the Beast.
Elba had this to say.
“I honestly love musicals. I auditioned for Beauty and the Beast. I really did, for Gaston,” Elba says. “I called and said, ‘Listen, I want in!’ So somewhere they have a tape of me singing.”
Unfortunately, the actor says the tape of his audition is nowhere to be found. As for whether the actor resents Luke Evans for getting the role instead, Elba had a cheeky answer.
“No, only a little bit. No! I love you Luke, you know that,” Elba jokes.
Beauty and the Beast made a whooping $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office, and is now available to own on DVD/Blu-Ray.
