Gugu Mbatha-Raw: "I got to ballroom dance with Ewan McGregor."

"I got to ballroom dance with Ewan McGregor." And cue the excited screams (and jealously). While appearing on the Rachel Ray Show to promote Free State of Jones, Gugu Mbatha-Raw also discussed her involvement with Beauty and the Beast. The actress, who plays the feather duster Plumette in the live-action film, discussed her memories of the original film and shooting the film's finale with Ewan McGregor and Emma Thompson.

Jump ahead to the 23:35 mark for Beauty and the Beast.

Source: Rachel Ray Show

Three new interviews with the cast of 'Beauty and the Beast"

MTV News: Does Emma Watson Have The Pipes To Be Belle?

At Toronto International Film Festival in support of the upcoming film “High-Rise,” Evans called singing “a wonderful thing,” gushing about his time on the set of “Beauty and the Beast” and what a “feisty” woman Emma Watson is.

In a word, he said Watson, who plays Belle in the movie, was “wonderful.”

“She’s great,” he said. “She epitomizes what Belle should be in the 21st century to young girls; she’s a strong woman. We all know Emma as Emma, a strong woman, she has a voice, she uses it very effectively and I admire her for that. She’s brought some of that to Belle. She’s not just a Disney princess, she’s more than a Disney princess, and she has a beautiful sensitive side to her. She’s quite delicate to look at, but she’s not at all. She’s a really strong, feisty woman and we have some fantastic scenes in the film. I was making her laugh more than she should have been laughing.”

And does she have the pipes to belt the musical’s iconic songs? Yes, Evans confirmed.

“Great singing voice to boot. She’s a triple threat. Makes me sick.”

Read the entire interview here.

The Independent: Gugu Mbatha-Raw on swapping Hollywood for Shakespeare’s Globe to play Nell Gwynn

She pauses, remembers Beauty and the Beast and laughs: “Er, not sure that really needs to be told in the same way!” But she acknowledges that she was ridiculously, childishly excited about being part of it, even if she does play … a feather duster. “Go on, you can say it! Well, I thought if Emma Thompson is playing a teapot I can certainly play a feather duster …”

Read the entire interview here.

NewsComAU: Josh Gad discusses Beauty and the Beast's London table read

“I was in a reading for Beauty and the Beast sitting next to Sir Ian McKellen, watching this man make minced meat of all of us ... Actually, let me rephrase that: I’m sitting sandwiched between Emma Thompson and Sir Ian McKellen ...

“You look at them and go, ‘God, I’ve got years and years and years of stuff to learn’.”

Is that your dream ... we begin to ask, but Gad jumps in before we can finish.

“Sir Josh Gad? Yes, that’s my dream.”

Source: MTV News, The Independent, NewsComAU

Gugu Mbatha-Raw joins 'Beauty and the Beast' as Plumette

In the latest round of casting news, Variety reports Beyond the Lights star Gugu Mbatha-Raw joins the cast of Beauty and the Beast as Plumette. The feather duster, who is known by several other names in different versions of the story, is also a romantic interest of Lumiere's in the animated film. Mbatha-Raw recently starred in Belle and showcased her beautiful vocal talent in 2014's Beyond the Lights.

Source: Variety