when Tiffany Boone Step for him mufasa At the audition, she had no idea she could play the iconic lion queen Sarabi.

"I created the character that I had in my head, (but) I didn't know I was auditioning for Sarabi," the actress, 37, said exclusively. our weekly Thursday, December 19, is time to discuss Mufasa: The Lion King. “It had a different name on the page. So I was like, 'It's got to be some new character.'

When Boone read the script, he thought the character seemed "cool" and wanted to use his voice to reflect that side of his personality. Boone was thrown for a loop once it was revealed that he would be voicing the beloved cartoon character.

"So when they told me who I was actually playing, I was like, 'Oh, it's actually quite a bit of pressure,'" she admitted.

Boone shared that he asked director Barry Jenkins if he wanted him to improve his voice. Madge Sinclairwho basically Voiced the character at the root lion king From 1994, or like Alfre Woodardwho played the role of Sarabi in 2019 Live-action adaptation. Jenkins, 45, had faith in Boone's talent and encouraged her to be herself as she developed Saraby's backstory.

"I had a lot of freedom to create a younger version of her and give the character other layers (and) to go through the challenges that she went through to become the great queen she was," he said. our.

As a fan of lion kingBoone always saw Sarabi as the "perfect" wife, mother, and queen, so fans wanted to get a taste of Sarabi's personality before she became Mufasa's loyal partner.

"He wasn't always perfect. He's sassy… he's sarcastic and he makes fun of the boys," Boone said, referring to Mufasa and his adopted brother Taka, who would later become Scar. "I think he has a sense of humor about him. She's really vulnerable, and all of those things are really fun to add to Sarabi's complexity that we see later."

Boone teased that fans might be "surprised" to see what Sarabi's relationship with Mufasa is like (did Aaron Pierre) emerges, indicating that it is "not such a straight line." As for rumors of a love triangle between Sarabi, Mufasa and Scar, Boone hinted that fans will "find out" when they see the movie.

"You'll understand the three of them a lot better, for sure," he teased.

Boone admits he's "still pinching himself" that he's now a member lion king the family

"I can't believe I'm a part of this," he shared, noting that his younger self couldn't have dreamed of such an opportunity. "Telling the younger version of me that sat on my mom's bed watching VHS over and over again, like, 'You're going to be a part of that family, that story.' I feel like her little head is going to explode. I couldn't even dream of it."

However, Boone admitted that there was "definitely pressure" to make sure he and the entire Mufasa team delivered - especially for fans of the animated classic.

"I know there are a bunch of people who are like, 'Will they do this justice?'" he reflected. “But there's also a lot of joy, and I think that's what we were trying to remember when we recorded it. And I think Barry Jenkins really guided us to find joy in these moments and have a lot of fun and take the pressure off our backs and do our jobs as actors."

Mufasa: The Lion King Now in theaters.

With reporting by Kat Pettibone