THE MANE MAN
FRESH FROM KICKING BUTT IN REBEL RIDGE, AARON PIERRE IS ABOUT TO ROAR AS THE TITLE CHARACTER IN MUFASA. HE REFLECTS ON HIS HUGE YEAR SO FAR
What’s your history with The Lion King?
The
original Lion King came out the year I was born [1994], so that’s something I personally hold very near and dear to my heart. I imagine the first time I saw it was probably in ’96 or ’97. This was one of, if not the only, Disney animations that were set on the continent of Africa, with that environment and that scenery. My mother’s Jamaican. My father is from Curaçao, which is in the Caribbean, and Sierra Leone, which is West Africa. And I think for me — subconsciously then and consciously now — it just made me feel seen.