Aaron Pierre And Kelvin Harrison Jr. Forge Powerful Bond In Disneys Mufasa

(L-R) "Mufasa: The Lion King" stars Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr.dive into their real-life friendship and how it nods to their film's message about the value of found family and brotherhood.Illustration:Jianan Liu/HuffPost; Photo:MUFASA: THE LION KING.

Photo courtesy of Disney, Getty ImagesKelvin Harrison Jr.is still trying to wrap his mind around the epic year he and Aaron Pierre have had together.At the top of 2024, the duo starred as Martin Luther King Jr.

and Malcolm X in “Genius: MLK/X,” the National Geographic series exploring the formative years of the trailblazing civil rights figures.Advertisement Now, at the tail end of the year, the actors reunite as iconic Disney characters in the highly anticipated “Mufasa: The Lion King,” the backstory of the titular lion (Pierre) — an orphaned cub who grows to become an honorable leader thanks to a chance meeting with royal heir Taka (Harrison Jr.), better known as Scar.Between those legacy-fueled opportunities, Pierre and Harrison Jr.also celebrated their 30th birthdays.

According to them, that milestone, coupled with the same-year release of their series and film, has stirred up all kinds of musings.“One day, I’ll understand why we got to do [‘Genius: MLK/X’] at the top of the year, turn 30 in the middle of it, and then end the year with these icons [in ‘Mufasa’],” Harrison Jr.tells HuffPost, reflecting on the landmark period.

With a grin, he adds, “That’s flyboy work.”Advertisement The actor’s sentiment is perhaps inspired by his and Pierre developing a close-knit friendship between their onscreen projects.Coincidentally, it loosely resembles the alliance that grows between their “Mufasa” characters.Audiences are familiar with Mufasa and Taka’s strained dynamic from 1994′s “The Lion King.” However, the origin of the lions’ unlikely bond (and how it fell apart) remained a mystery until Oscar-winning “Moonlight” director Barry Jenkins and screenw...