Tiffany Boone reveals she was shocked to have landed Sarabi’s role

Tiffany Boone revealed she had no idea about the role she was auditioning for.

She walked into her Mufasa audition unaware she was about to become Sarabi, the iconic lion queen. 

In chat with Us Weekly, the 37-year-old actress stated, “I created the character that was in my head, but I didn’t know I was auditioning for Sarabi.”

The actress went on to explain that the character had a different name in the script, so she assumed there was someone new being introduced in the film. 

Boone thought the persona seemed “cool” as she read the script and worked to bring that part to life, but was left astounded when she discovered the real role she was meant to play.

“When they told me who I was actually playing, I was like, ‘Oh, that’s quite a bit of pressure, actually,'” the actress admitted.

The Hunters star shared that she had asked the director, Barry Jenkins, if he wanted her to imitate the style of Madge Sinclair, the original Sarabi from the 1994 Lion King, or Alfre Woodard from 2019’s live-action. 

She revealed that Jenkins completely trusted her talent and told her to stay authentic to herself and bring her own voice for the role.

“I had so much freedom to create the younger version of her and give the other layers to the persona and the challenges that she went through to become the great queen that she becomes,” she told the publication.