The classic Disney animation Moana comes to life on the big screen on Wednesday and it’s a young Aussie actress who will embody her in the live-action film.
Sydneysider Catherine Laga’aia steps into the role of our barefoot heroine in the highly anticipated movie, which the 19-year-old scored after beating out more than 32,000 hopefuls for the role.
While the role of mighty demigod Maui could only go to the one and only Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson – who also voiced the character in the two animated films released in 2016 and 2024 – Moana live-action director Thomas Kail searched far and wide for his Moana.
But the search ended for Kail – the acclaimed director of the Broadway hit Hamilton – when he discovered Catherine three years ago.
“There was a tremendous amount of empathy and it was matched by her courage and there’s a spirit inside of her,” Kail told news.com.au of Catherine when promoting the film at a blue carpet event in Sydney last month while on the Moana global press tour.
“It’s indomitable and she’s going to try and she’s going to keep going. And she also has this light within her and she wants to share it. And so I think we’re all the beneficiaries of that.”
Catherine – who is the daughter of honorary Aussie actor Jay Laga’aia – first auditioned for the role three years ago after her mum and agent saw a Disney Instagram post announcing the global search for Moana, so they urged Catherine to audition.
To get them off her back, the then-16-year-old quickly filmed an audition tape against her mum’s bedroom wall, did two takes and was done. She submitted the tape and thought nothing more of it, until Disney came calling.
Fast forward three years and she’s back in Sydney promoting her film in front of her home town.
“I’m so excited to get to celebrate it at such a scale,” Catherine – who is a proud Samoan – told news.com.au at the event. “This movie has been so important to me and so has growing up in Australia, it’s really shaped who I am. So I’m so proud to get to stand here and represent the Sydney side of things considering the rest of the cast is so kind of worldly.”
And to be able to show off her stomping grounds to The Rock himself, Catherine was brimming with excitement.
“It feels like I’m showing my oldest sibling my room for the first time,” she told us. “I’m like, ‘This is what it looks like. Do you like it?’ So I’m really excited for him to get to be here and kind of celebrate Sydney with me.”
“We can’t do this movie without him,” she added. “He was so passionate about getting this film up on its legs and we really couldn’t have made it without him. So I’m really proud to get to be here with him.”
Johnson, who is a proud girl dad of three, has been cheering on Catherine since she was cast in the role.
The actor took the young star under his wing, treating her just like one of his daughters and imparting words of wisdom from day dot.
“I tell my daughters, you belong in any room that you want to go in and I always tell them too, whatever you want to do, you can do it,” he told news.com.au on the blue carpet.
“You put in the effort and the universe, God, whatever you want to call it, that’s much bigger than us, will always meet you halfway.
“But you must put in the effort and you must do the hard thing and the hard thing matters…
On the other side of the hard thing, that’s when good stuff happens.”
Moana is now showing in cinemas.
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