He melted hearts as Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid, but his latest role couldn’t be more different – playing an Auschwitz tattooist in an epic Holocaust drama. The actor opens up about how his own family’s plight inspired him
It’s not every day that I meet a real-life Disney prince. It’s even more discombobulating when he tells me he spent the weekend cheering on Clapton CFC women’s team in windy east London. “Before The Little Mermaid, a lot of people told me, ‘This is going to happen! That is going to happen!’” says Jonah Hauer-King, who starred as Prince Eric in last year’s remake. “It’s just really not the case. I wouldn’t say my life has changed much. Honestly.” It’s probably about to, though. Massively.
The 28-year-old lifelong Londoner is sharply suited and booted in the capital’s Corinthia hotel, ready to take on a full day of press with the poise and charm that clearly helped him bag that wide-eyed royal part (he even convincingly claims that these interviews are worth missing his beloved Arsenal’s Champions League game in the evening for). His next project, however, is a world away from Disney dreams.
