The Stunning Transformation of Beauty and the Beast's Gaston into Live-Action Art
A look at the incredible live-action rendering of Gaston from Beauty and the Beast and his various live-action appearances.
The Transformation of Gaston
Beauty and the Beast's Gaston has been transformed into a shockingly accurate live-action form in new art. The 1991 Disney musical is based on the Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont fairy tale of the same time and follows a young woman named Belle who is imprisoned in the castle of a prince who has been cursed to be a beast, but eventually falls in love with the man behind the monstrous visage. The foil for the Beast is the hunter Gaston, who is handsome but cruel, ruthlessly seeking Belle's hand in marriage because she is valuable based on her looks alone.
LeFou (Josh Gad) and Gaston (Luke Evans) in the town square in Beauty and the Beast
On Instagram, artist Ulya Stuzhuk digitally created a faux live-action rendering of Gaston, bringing the Disney Princess villain to life. The video shows Stuzhuk painstakingly using a digital drawing technique to bring the character to life in an even more handsome form than his original animated appearance. Although the character still looks somewhat animated in the early going, as further details are added, he becomes more and more real.
The character Gaston was invented for the Disney Renaissance musical, so he was not present in the original fairy tale. This means that the character has not been portrayed in other live-action adaptations of the story, including Jean Cocteau's 1946 movie of the same name and the four-season CBS show starring Ron Perlman that premiered in 1987. However, Disney has adapted their own Beauty and the Beast to live-action, so there have at least been a small number of actors who have portrayed the character onscreen.
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Gaston's Live-Action Appearances
The most well-known example of a live-action Gaston came in the 2017 remake Beauty and the Beast, starring Emma Watson as Belle and Dan Stevens as the Beast. In that version of the story, Dracula Untold's Luke Evans brought the character to life opposite Josh Gad as his right-hand man LeFou. The pair were previously set to appear in the live-action Disney+ prequel show Little Town, but the show was put on indefinite hold in 2022.
Various theatrical performances of Disney's Beauty and the Beast have featured other actors as Gaston, with Joshua Henry stepping into the role on the live ABC television broadcast of the stage show. Beyond that, Gaston's live-action appearances have been limited to a pair of Once Upon a Time episodes where he was played by Sage Brocklebank in season 1 and Wes Brown in season 5. While each put their own unique spin on the role, none have represented the animated character quite as accurately as this new artwork.
Legacy of Gaston in Live-Action
CBS's Beauty and the Beast show was nominated for 24 Emmys, winning six.
Gaston's live-action appearances have left a lasting legacy, with various actors bringing their own interpretations to the character. Luke Evans's portrayal in the 2017 remake is particularly memorable, as he brought a new level of complexity to the character. The live-action adaptations have allowed Gaston to be reimagined by different actors, showcasing the enduring appeal of the character across different formats. While the animated character will always hold a special place in the hearts of fans, the live-action renditions have added new dimensions to Gaston's story, making him an even more compelling figure in the world of Disney.
