While Rachel Zegler is currently reveling in the buzz surrounding The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, many are already looking towards her next high-profile acting gig. She’s set to portray the titular character in the live-action Snow White film – a remake of Disney’s animated 1937 film. Commentators have had plenty of thoughts about her cast, but most seem genuinely excited about Zegler playing “The Fairest of Them All.” The star herself seems excited about her status as a Disney princess and appears to be conscious of everything that comes with it. There’s one aspect of the position that she discussed with CinemaBlend and, apparently, it makes her “sob her eyes out.”
A lot of actors can certainly face a considerable amount of pressure when they opt to take on an iconic role. That’s especially true when it just so happens to be one of the most beloved characters from one of the biggest studios in the world. However, it may surprise you to hear that pressure isn’t what cues the workworks from the West Side Story star. She discussed the matter while speaking with our own Sean O’Connell during an interview that you can see a portion of on Instagram. As the 22-year-old actress explained, there’s a very specific kind of fan-related moment that makes her tear up every time:
Seeing little kids dress up as Snow White makes me sob my eyes out. I can’t. Like, I go to the parks, and I’m like, [feigns crying]. … I do, and my best friend is like, ‘Are you good?’ I’m like, ‘No.’
It’s not hard to understand why such moments would give Rachel Zegler all of the feels. It has to be amazing to see small children dress up like the beloved character and still embrace her after all these years. There’s also the possibility that those encounters are sweet reminders for Zegler personally that she’s now part of the storied legacy surrounding the famed princess. I’d say that either one of those thoughts would be enough to bring a tear to one’s eye if they were in the starlet’s shoes.
The actress was cast as the live-action Snow White for the upcoming Disney movie, which also stars Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen, back in 2021. Since being cast, she’s shared (non-spoilery) details about what audiences can expect from the movie as well as what the part means to her. Something the Shazam! Fury of the Gods alum has been candid about is how it feels to be a Latina actress cast as a princess by the House of Mouse. As she once put it during an interview, “Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me.” This all seems to be quite surreal for her and, later during her interview with us, she conveyed her excitement about her dress.
Rachel Zegler has unfortunately been experiencing some backlash in connection with her role. A number of commentators across the Internet seemed to take issue with her being cast for the part. On top of that, this summer, a past interview Zegler participated in resurfaced and, during it, she conveyed that updates were going to be made to the character for her portrayal. As she explained, this iteration of the maiden is not “simply going to be saved by the prince” and isn’t only “dreaming of true love.” Snow also wants to become “the leader she knows she can be.” While being chastised by trolls, Zegler responded to the backlash, thanking people for their support and asking not to be tagged in posts as part of the discourse.
She’s certainly acted with grace during this somewhat turbulent time, during which Snow White has even been delayed from 2024 to 2025. Keeping that in mind, she’s essentially proving that she was indeed a fitting pick for this role. As the movie draws closer, the chances of her seeing even more kids dressed as her character are going to get higher, especially on premiere night. So she might want to keep some tissues nearby in case she starts bawling on the red carpet.
Snow White is set to hit theaters on March 21, 2025 and, in the meantime, you can stream the animated film with a Disney+ subscription. Rachel Zegler fans can also check her out in the 2023 new movie release The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, which is now playing in theaters.
