Breton Gwendal Marimoutou makes his voice roar in “Mufasa: The Lion King”

In “Mufasa: The Lion King”, you lend your voice to the lion Scar who will become Taka, as an adult, and you perform three songs in French. How was the casting carried out?

The production called me directly because I had performed, for two years, the role of Simba in the musical “The Lion King” which I performed 580 times, from 2021 to 2023, at the Théâtre Mogador, in Paris. Doing the voices of Scar and Taka was a real challenge that I wanted to take on. From October 29 to November 30, 2024, I did dubbing in Dubbing Brothers Studios, in Paris, the largest dubbing studio in Europe.

Is such dubbing a difficult exercise?

When Scar was a teenager, his voice was close to mine, but when he started to twist and became Machiavellian, it was more complicated and I had a huge amount of work to do. I had to lower my voice into the bass by making the consonants hit well, especially when I had to give the impression that Scar was out of breath. When he fights in the snow-capped peaks of Kilimanjaro, my voice also had to express this rage.

How did the meeting with the other voice actors go: Jamel Debbouze, Tahar Rahim, Alban Ivanov?

It was incredible. Tahar Rahim, with whom I was paired, is extraordinary. He is someone who works a lot to release something of quality. As for Jamel and Alban, they are on stage as in life. They are two beings who exude generosity.

There was also another Breton woman among the voice actors: the Carantecoise Aurélie Konaté?

We have known each other for years, we both work in the world of musical comedy. We are quite close and we were so happy to meet up in the studios. As she is a true dubbing professional, it was interesting to have her by our side. She is hardworking, brilliant and accommodating. She’s the right friend.

What comment can you make on the film?

We find all the iconic ingredients of “The Lion King” that we have known for 30 years. Mufasa’s story conveys the universal message that is: “You can start from nothing and achieve everything without crushing others.” The film really shows that it’s not all about being king, but that we can live together. We therefore need everyone with their differences to live together. A lion can thus live with buffaloes, gazelles, giraffes…

Now, what are your plans?

I’m going on tour again with the show “Musical Comedies: The Best of”

where I share the stage with Damien Sargue, Cécilia Cara, Ginie Line, Natasha St-Pier, Priscilla Betti… It’s a best of musicals with a medley composed of a hundred extracts of songs from “The Lion King », of “Resist”, of “Romeo and Juliet”. A very dynamic show, which is both a giant karaoke and a real concert. I also have a role in the next season of the TF1 series, “Léo Mattéï, brigade des minors”, which is scheduled to be broadcast in 2025.

What do you think of it at home in Brittany?

I hope to be able to come to my house in Huelgoat (29) next spring. It has been under construction for several years but we are reaching the end of the project. I plan to do artistic residencies in this house which stands near the lake and the enchanted forest of Huelgoat.