The Little Mermaid is finally out in cinemas, and has introduced us to our latest obsession, the live-action Prince Eric actor, Jonah Hauer-King. Despite reports that Harry Styles was taking the gig at Disney’s most dashing prince, the role eventually went to the 27-year-old Brit instead - and fans are loving his performance. So who is the actor? Find out everything you need to know…
Jonah attended Eton and went on to study theology and religious studies at St John’s College, Cambridge, with his first roles being aged 19 in The Maiden and Blue back in 2014. The actor went on to star in A Dog’s Way Home alongside Bryce Dallas Howard, and received acclaim for portraying Harry in the BBC drama World on Fire, which recently filmed season two.
The actor is also set to star as Lale in the adaptation of the bestselling novel, The Tattooist of Auschwitz. In April, he confirmed that filming had been completed via Instagram, writing: “That’s a wrap for me on the Tattooist of Auschwitz — a journey that started back in March 2022. Thank you to all the incredible crew, cast, writers and producers for such a challenging and formative 3 months of filming. Will never forget it.”
Director Rob Marshall recently opened up about Jonah as Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid, particularly in regards to the new original song written for the live-action version. He said: “We realized, of course, Eric had no song in the original. I don’t know anything about him! So it was very obvious we needed to give him an ‘I Want’ song. It’s his ‘Part of Your World.’ And [with it], he becomes a three-dimensional character. It’s a different genre. You’re moving from a 2D piece to a 3D piece with real people.”
© InstagramJonah added: “We get to know him so well through this song. We understand him so much better. We understand what he’s longing for and what his hopes and his dreams are. And we understand some of his frustration and his pain and longing for this girl that saved him and longing for something bigger. Obviously, it was sort of terrifying because I knew that meant that I’d be singing next to Halle.”
MORE: Remember little Jack from Room? The Little Mermaid star looks so different now!
© GettySo what’s next for the star? The actor is also set to appear in A Beautiful Imperfection, Fabio D'Andrea: One Small Step and Rich Flu. The latter also stars Rafe Spall, Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Outlander’s Cesar Domboy. According to Deadline, the story is set in a world where a mysterious disease begins to kill the richest people in the world. After killing billionaires, then millionaires, it threatens to strike any sort of fortune - making people give away assets that nobody longer wants. Sounds good, right?!
Don't want to miss a story? Sign up to our What to Watch newsletter and get the heads-up on the shows and films everyone’s talking about.
