There are so many actors who I’ve imagined playing Prince Eric in Disney’s new live-action reboot of The Little Mermaid, but I’m going to be honest and say that 13 Reasons Why star Christian Navarro wasn’t one of them.
We know that Harry Styles passed on the role and now Navarro, who plays Tony Padilla in the Netflix show, has confirmed via his Twitter account that he auditioned for the role after Styles said no.
On August 14, he wrote, “So I heard Harry Styles passed on Prince Eric, well…I can sing. Black Ariel/Latino Prince…no ones called but [13 Reasons Why] Season 3 drops next week and I think it’s one hell of an audition.”
He then reported this week, “Idk what happened to the other tweet.
But! @disney saw this, saw your support, and gave my team a call. They wanted to see what I could do. Tapes sent. Fingers crossed. Let’s make some history.”
And fans are super pumped about the news:
Fans of 13 Reasons Why know Navarro as Tony, the reliable, yet troubled friend of Hannah Baker, and while he’s relatively new to Hollywood, the 28-year-old has had a few big-screen roles.
Most recently he starred opposite Melissa McCarthy, who’s rumoured to be Ursula in the film, in Can You Ever Forgive Me? so maybe she can put in a good word for him?
Navarro’s previously shown off his singing chops in the song Hello Again which is described on YouTube as, “Tony’s Love Letter to Hannah Baker.”
It would be a very different role for the actor, but I am starting to picture him in the role and it could be pretty cool – especially because it would be great to see a multicultural cast.
Do you think he’d make a good Prince Eric?