How Naomi Scott found strength for her Charlie’s Angels and Aladdin performances in the stories women have told through #MeToo

Nov 17 , 2019

Naomi Scott will star in the new Charlie’s Angels movie, alongside Kristen Stewart and Ella Balinska. Photo: Instagram

She’s the love interest of Aladdin in the new Hollywood movie, but Naomi Scott says her role as Jasmine is about empowering women

Naomi Scott was not even born when Aladdin, the original Walt Disney animated feature film, first hit the screen in 1992, but by the time she was a young girl, Princess Jasmine had become a firm favourite for the future actress.

This year, with Aladdin becoming the latest animated classic to enjoy a live-action update, Scott hoped her portrayal of the princess would be as exciting for contemporary fans as it was for her younger self.

“It’s important to present Jasmine as a strong, clever, yet feminine character,” the 26-year-old says. “Jasmine is fighting for justice. She is a leader and a politician and it is so cool for little girls to be watching me play her and think, ‘Oh, yeah, that makes sense. Jasmine deserves to be the leader’.

“She’s the person who has studied and understands her kingdom and everything that goes with it. And that’s the way it should be.”

Naomi Scott (right) will star alongside Kristen Stewart (centre) and Ella Balinska in Elizabeth Banks’ Charlie’s Angels reboot.

At a time when Hollywood – and wider society – is undergoing huge shifts in the treatment of women, Scott was determined, along with director Guy Ritchie, to reflect the current entertainment zeitgeist.

The idea of the Walt Disney princess has long been one that is fraught with complex connotations on gender and power, but in rejecting established patriarchal traditions, Jasmine was a character that had reflected modern ideals even back in the early 90s.

“When Guy Ritchie and I were discussing the character, we wanted to find a way to translate this character to the present,” she says. “I wanted to present her in a way that still connects to the original [story] but also adds something fresh, new and modern.”

It was in this vein that Scott chose to base her performance of Jasmine less on the great musical stars of yesteryear and more on the experiences of women around the world who have told their stories through the conduit of #MeToo or #TimesUp.