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Actress Halle Bailey evolved right alongside her character Ariel while making 'The Little Mermaid'.
The 22-year-old singer transforms into the underwater Disney princess in the upcoming live-action re-imagining, which had its first teaser trailer debut on Friday.
Bailey told People at the D23 Expo about how the role changed her, and why she broke down in tears after completing the anticipated movie, reports People.
"I'd definitely say coming into this film I was a lot more, I think, just young-minded and a bit more not sure of myself so much," she says.
"The whole experience of filming, in more ways than one, mirrored Ariel's journey of finding herself and her voice."
"I remember at the end of filming, wrap day, I was just sobbing because I truly felt like I had come out of this cocoon with Ariel," says Bailey.
"This story has done so much for me and the filming process has really kind of changed my life. I'd definitely say it mirrored what Ariel goes through in the film."
Bailey adds that the film has "changed my perspective on everything" and "impacted my life in so many ways".
And she hopes the representation she now brings to the iconic story will mean just as much to young audiences.
"The fact that now it's getting to be played by me, a person who looks like me, woman of color, I'm just like, wow, I'm so grateful what it will do for all the other little Black and brown boys and girls who will see themselves in me," she says.
"Because I know if I had seen myself when I was younger, I think my whole perspective would've changed."
As for how she put her own personal stamp on Ariel, Bailey says: "Well, I can only be myself when it comes to taking on something this grand and great."
"Sometimes it can be overwhelming to take the character that everybody has loved and known for years and make it your own," says Bailey.
"But I just listened to the little girl that's in me, and I listen to her and make her happy and then I know if I put my all and my passion and everything into it that I'll give it my best. And I feel like I did."
'The Little Mermaid' is scheduled to hit the theatres on May 26, 2023
