Jonah Hauer-King has nabbed the lead role opposite Halle Bailey in Disney’s upcoming live-action version of The Little Mermaid. While there were rumors that former One Direction band member Harry Styles would take the role, after he passed, and Hauer passed through two scree tests with director Rob Marshall, he’s officially joining the beloved remake of the 1989 animated film.
Starring alongside Hauer-King is the previously announced star-studded cast of Melissa McCarthy as Ursula, Javier Bardem as King Triton, and Daveed Diggs as Sebastion.
While Hauer-King, 24, may seem like unknown, the U.K. born actor has been working in the industry for years, and his sister Hannah, is a successful theatre director.
Here’s what you need to know about Jonah Hauer-King….
1. He Starred on BBC’s ‘World on Fire’
While he’s racked up quite a few TV credits, Hauer-King’s most recent stint on the small screen was a starring role in the series, World on Fire.
The seven-episode mini-series, which also starred actress Helen Hunt, and former Game of Thrones star Sean Bean, followed the lives of everyday people affected by World War II. Speaking of his character’s World on Fire storyline to the Radio Times, the actor revealed, “When we meet him we learn that he’s fallen down the rabbit hole of falling in love with two people. It’s not so much an affair as it is being in a strange position… Harry has a lot of good intention and a lot of love and compassion in him. But at the beginning of the series he’s also deeply flawed so I don’t want to defend him too much!”
2. Hauer-King Is Incredibly Close With His Family
Born on March 30, 1995, in London, England, his parents are Debra Hauer, an American theatre producer, and Jeremy King, a restaurateur.
Hauer-King also two sisters. His older sister, Margot, whom according to her Linkedin profile, works as Strategic Partnership Director CTO Team at WPP, in London. His other sister Hannah, is a successful freelance theatre, comedy and cabaret director. She acts as Artistic Director and co-founder of all-female theatre company Damsel Productions, and works as a theatre, comedy and cabaret programmer for Fane Productions at venue Live At Zedel. She is repped by the Agency in London.
3. He Graduated from Cambridge University
Soon after Hauer-King started studying acting at school, he was signed by an agent while performing at the Edinburgh Fringe. Before focusing on his professional career, however, he studied at Cambridge University, and graduated with a First Class degree in Theology and Religious Studies in 2017.
4. He Is Not Dating ‘Little Women’ Co-Star Maya Hawk
Hauer-King played the lead role of Laurie Lawrence in BBC’s TV remake of Little Women, which premiered in 2018. Starring alongside him, Maya Hawk, who’s parents are actors Ethan Hawk and Uma Thurman, along with Kathryn Newton, Willa Fitzgerald and Annes Elwy, as the four March sisters.
The series, which was based on Louisa May Alcott’s award winning novel, was well-received critically, and has a 7.1 star rating on IMDB. While Hawk and Hauer-King did a lot of press for the series, and fans wanted them to be romantically involved, the two remain extremely close and supportive friends of one another.
It appears that Hauer-King is currently single.
5. Hauer-Smith Starred in the film ‘A Dog’s Way Home’
The Little Mermaid is far from Hauer-King’s first foray into film. In 2019, he starred alongside Ashley Judd in A Dog’s Way Home, and worked with Tim Roth, Clive Owen, and Catherine McCormack in Francois Gerard’s The Song of Names.
Hauer-King’s movie debut was in 2017, when appeared in Danny Huston’s The Last Photograph.