Disney’s new Moana is the daughter of a Star Wars actor!
Catherine Laga’aia fully embraces the legacy of her famous father, New Zealand actor Jay Laga’aia.
She makes her big screen debut today at the cinema as Moana.
At just 18 years old, Catherine Laga’aia is the star of the live-action remake of the Disney classic. But the young Australian actress is not entering completely unknown territory: she is the daughter of Jay Laga’aia, seen in the prelogy Star Wars.
Fans of the saga know him for having played Captain Typho, faithful protector of Padmé Amidala, in Attack of the Clones And Revenge of the Sith. A legacy that her daughter assumes without hesitation.
“I inherited nepotism, that’s for sure. I’ll take that gladly!”, she confided with humor in an interview with People. The actress explains above all that she wanted to make her father proud:
“He knows what is good, he knows what he likes. It was important to me that he was proud of me. This is the part of my family that I represent.”
Despite this well-known name, Catherine Laga’aia did not get the role on a simple impulse. According to director Thomas Kail, she was chosen from thousands of candidates, to the point of convincing him… in just ten seconds during her audition.
In this new version of Moanashe succeeds Auli’i Cravalho, who lent his voice to the heroine in the animated film released in 2016. Dwayne Johnson, on the other hand, will return to his character of Maui in this live action adaptation.
