Young 'Lion King' actors had Beyonce-size shoes to fill

Shahadi Wright Joseph and JD McCrary. Photo: Disney

The pressure was on for young actors Shahadi Wright Joseph and JD McCrary when they got word that they’d been cast as the voices of young Nala and young Simba in The Lion King. Not only was it an ambitious remake of an iconic film, but it was their first major Hollywood project.

Then they found out that their characters’ adult voices would be done by Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Donald Glover, and it took “just waiting to be king” to a whole new level.