josh gad played gaston in new beauty and the beast.
josh gad played gaston in new beauty and the beast.
who plays gaston in new beauty and the beast?
josh gad
gaston appears in the 2017 remake as played by welsh actor luke evans. during an interview with "empire" magazine, evans said that gaston would retain his hunter background, yet would also be a former soldier in the french army. he also implied that this version of gaston is darker than the original. in the film, gaston plays out the same role as in the animated movie, though with a few differences. bored with his peaceful life after returning from the war, gaston pursues belle, determined to marry her, as she is the most beautiful girl in the village and the only one good enough for him. he also finds her independence to be a thrilling challenge, and shows obvious disgust with the bimbettes who constantly fawn over him purely because of his appearance. he accosts her at her home, subtly offering his hand in marriage for when maurice dies, but she turns him down. gaston sulks in the tavern until lefou cheers him up with a song. maurice appears, claiming that belle has been imprisoned by the beast. intrigued, gaston offers to help maurice free her as means of gaining both maurice and belle's favor. gaston comes to doubt maurice's claims and reveals the only reason for helping him was so he could give gaston belle's hand in marriage. when maurice refuses to allow gaston to marry belle, gaston ties him to a tree, leaving him to the wolves. he hopes by doing this, it would coerce belle into marrying him, as he tells lefou that after maurice dies there will be no one to take care of belle except for him. maurice later accuses gaston of his crime, but gaston fools the people into thinking maurice is mad and arranges for him to be locked up in the asylum. he privately offers to put a stop to it if he lets him marry belle, but maurice still refuses. when belle turns up and proves the beast's existence with the mirror, gaston's jealousy drives him to rally the people to storm the castle and kill the beast, but not before he orders tom, dick, and stanley to lock belle alongside her father to prevent her from warning the beast. he confronts the beast alone and shoots him in the back. belle appears and the beast fights back, holding gaston over a chasm, but gaston begs for mercy and is spared. instead of leaving, gaston stands on a nearby stone bridge and shoots the beast again, this time fatally. in response to the beast's life fading, the castle begins to crumble and the bridge where gaston is standing breaks into pieces, sending gaston falling to his death. unlike in the animated movie, gaston's death is shown onscreen.
gaston (beauty and the beast)
beloved by nearly every character in the film, most of whom revere him as the town's most eligible bachelor, decent films film critic steven d. greydanus agreed that gaston initially resembles "merely the ultimate dumb jock". gaston's bodybuilder physique serves as a deliberate exaggeration upon "the stereotyped image of male beauty"; "the meanings of "beauty and the beast": a handbook" author jerry griswold compared the character's appearance to actors sylvester stallone and arnold schwarzenegger, while the "chicago tribune"'s gene siskel described him as a "robert goulet clone on steroids." tradigital animate cc: 12 principles of animation in adobe animate author stephen brooks likened gaston's exaggerated facial expressions to the way in which people "give away their lies as they try to overcompensate." according to "from mouse to mermaid: the politics of film, gender, and culture" author elizabeth bell, gaston "functions ... to contrast to the beast", whose personality ultimately helps make the beast a more appealing hero despite the latter character's own flaws. while the beast maintains "a heart of gold" despite being hideous in appearance, gaston boasts a handsome exterior but remains "rotting on the inside"; the beast risks becoming like gaston on the inside if he fails to change his ways. gaston represents "the difference between outward beauty and beauty of the soul", one of the film's central themes. the fact that gaston's cruel nature is not mirrored by his handsome exterior "further emphasiz[es] the film’s message about inner beauty." a visual reference to the beast's "half-man, half-animal" appearance, gaston's body is temporarily attached to a pig's head when he falls into a large mud puddle upon having his marriage proposal rejected by belle. ultimately, although gaston mortally wounds the beast, he is still unable to kill the human who continues to thrive within him. in the end, gaston becomes the monster the beast was originally depicted as, and his failure "to transform into a new man" ultimately results in his own death. at the same time, gaston's cowardice is demonstrated by his decision to stab the beast in the back immediately after the reformed creature offers him a choice to walk away unharmed.
gaston (beauty and the beast)