Aaron Pierre - Are you a hopeless romantic?

We're super proud and super happy to have you here. He is the voice of Mufasa, the Lion King. Can we make some noise, please, for Aaron Pierre? Mufasa, two brothers who set off on a dangerous journey to find a new home and a new family. What's the reception like now that you're back home and your profile must have raised by just a little bit now? It's honestly, I'm I'm an introvert. Like despite despite my career choice as an actor, an artist, I'm actually an introvert and somewhat of a recluse. So a lot of this year, the reception, I've been enjoying it and receiving it in the comfort of my tiny apartment. You know, it's just who I am. You know, I feel like things can coexist. Yeah, I feel like I can, you know, do Mufasa, the Lion King and also just really enjoy being in my own space, cooking and, you know, listening to audio books. I've got this new feature and it's called Straight Out the Group Chat. Right. And it's so exciting. Like you said, you listen to the show before and I get the opportunity to tell my family and friends I'm interviewing somebody. And they're like, oh, my gosh, this person, that person. I have some incredibly educated questions for you. Amazing. How many group chats are you part of, by the way? Oh, I want to say eight or nine. Eight or nine. Five of them are on mute. Wow. Wow. Four of them are archived. Wow. It's an honest space today. Hmm. It's an honest space. Amen. All right. So straight out the group chat. Question number one, does he enjoy London life? And has he ever been to Bristol? Because that's where I live. And I'd like him to come and maybe visit sometime. And I'd like to come and say hi. That's from Shana's mum. Oh, that's so sweet. So have you ever been to Bristol? I've been to Bristol once before. I think it's a really beautiful part of the UK. And in regards to London, you know, I'm born and raised in South London. I grew up in West Croydon. I love London. You know, it's my home. It's my favorite city in the world, my favorite place in the world. I'm deeply grateful to it. Taught me a lot of lessons. And I wouldn't be certainly wouldn't be the man I am today had I not grown up here. So, yeah, love that. All right. Second question from the group chat for anyone else. I found this man on Instagram. OK, so I've been a fan and the rest is history. But I actually want to know, is he a Lion King fan? Like, does he know about the OG Lion King? 100 percent. Thank you, by the way. That's very kind. Yeah, I'm a massive Lion King fan. So the first time I saw the original Lion King was probably in, I want to say, 97 or 98. I was about three or four. Yeah. And it was on VHS, of course. And I think for me personally, something that. Really resonated with me and what made it my favorite Disney film immediately is that. My mother's Jamaican and my father is of West African and Caribbean heritage. Right. Sierra Leone and Coruscant, which is a very beautiful line in the Caribbean. So what I was seeing was. The continent of Africa being celebrated in its entirety, I was seeing the colors being celebrated, I was seeing the sounds of the landscape being celebrated, the music, the vibrancy, all of that being celebrated. And that was also being celebrated in my home. So immediately, of course, I was only three or four. So I didn't have these words. But subconsciously, I felt included and I felt involved. So I've been I've been I've been a Lion King fan from all the way back then, way before I knew I would be part of it. It's been my favorite Disney film. Love to the other Disney films, of course. You know, I'm love to the canon. But, you know, Lion King is where it's at. It's top tier, man. Next one. Sasa Aaron, how about Iyako? On a joke, a Lion King. When I get Swahili, Kidogo. So that is my Kenyan speaking friend who speaks Swahili. But what was said? Do you understand Swahili? Oh, hi. OK. OK. Do you understand Swahili? No, I was able to identify it with Swahili, but I didn't know what she was saying. It sounds so beautiful. It sounds great, doesn't it? Oh, big ups Lion King, man. Look at us getting all cultural. All right. I've got one more for you, OK? Hi, Aaron. So my question for you is I would like to know whether you're a hopeless romantic like myself, because then I'll know for sure that we're meant to be. Like I just feel like we're so in sync. But on a serious note, do you actually plan on taking any romantic roles like being a romantic lead? And if so, who do you think you would want to partner up with? I feel like I can see you in the rom-com. So let me know your thoughts. Very interesting question. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you for that question. This is a safe space. This is the safest. All right. I feel like, honestly, I'm romantic. Yeah, but at the same time, I think like many of us, I'm very protective of my heart and matters of the heart. So I'm an enormous romantic, but it just takes me a while to get there. But once I do, you know, I'm at your beck and call. You know what I mean? Would I ever do a romantic comedy or a romance? Yeah, 100 percent. And I think honestly, I couldn't I couldn't narrow it down to one, you know, actor that I collaborate with. I think there are so many wonderful, wonderful artists out there who would enrich the experience. I would learn a lot from. Yeah. Are there any other roles like Bar the Hopeless Romantic that you feel like you want to conquer? Like there's that, you know, because obviously as actors, you can tap into so many different characters. Is there any one particular role that you're like, I need to play, you know, like the villain? Honestly, you know, I I've been very blessed to have had the opportunity, been gifted the opportunity to do what with such phenomenal filmmakers with such phenomenal scripts. So really, I'm really just going one day at a time. And what's meant for me won't miss me. Yeah. And I used to say that a lot because it sounded good. Yeah. But I was never practicing it. But now I mean, I mean it for real. And it's brought me a lot of peace. And it's allowed me to set free a lot of any anxieties that I had. Yeah. You know, when a moment comes, you know, it's meant to be here. So I enjoy that moment. Not that I think that we should do something maybe in memory of James L. Jones, like we've got a couple of clips of the OG film. And I want to see if we can guess who these characters are. Oh, let's do it. I love I love this stuff. This is a little bit of me. All right, let's go. Here's the first one. She's going to eat me! Timon. Hold on. Let me do it again. She's going to eat me! Pumba? She's going to eat me! Huh? We always think it's Timon. You know what? It was the higher register. He went up. Allow me for that one. No, I got you. I got you. Because even I was like, oh, see, I was like, no. All right. All right. All right. Next one. So we've got someone who speaks Swahili. Hang on. We've got someone who speaks Swahili. What's he saying? A squash banana on the side. Oh, that's not Swahili. Don't you love Rafiki's laugh, though, isn't it? Creepy little monkey. I did a quiz the other day. What Lion King character are you? And it told me I was Rafiki. Really? Yeah. In a past life, maybe. Maybe. Yeah. I'd love to be Rafiki. All right. OK, I've got one more. I just hear that name and I shudder. Mufasa! Do it again. Mufasa! Oh, it tingles. That's the hyenas, that's Shenzi. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do it again. Mufasa! Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ruby Goldberg originally did her voice, didn't she? All right. Last one. And we don't need to guess. I just think it'd be a nice way to end it. All right. We'll do this one. Let me tell you something that my father told me. That is the great James Earl Jones. Rest in peace. Rest in power. The great kings of the past look down on us from those stars. Really? Yes. So whenever you feel alone, just remember that those kings will always be there to guide you. Oh, beautiful. He is. He is just for me, James Earl Jones is the top of the mountain. I've said this many times before, but yes, he inspired me greatly within the context of Mufasa the Lion King and him having originated this character and established this franchise. But way before I knew I would be part of the Lion King and way before I knew, way before I turned professional. He's been my one of my greatest inspirations. And I've been a student of him and observed him for many, many years. He is he's the top of the mountain. And, you know, hopefully we served him and we honored him and everything that he is, you know. Guys, can we please make some noise for Aaron Pierre?