The speaking voice of adult Nala is provided by American actress Moira Kelly. Kelly (who rose her fame in Robert Downey, Jr. film "Chaplin") learned that Disney was auditioning actresses for the role of Nala from her agent. Despite having not been the directors' first choice for the role, Kelly was allowed to audition because the filmmakers were interested in hearing different voices at the time. Kelly believes the directors had been searching for a specific "quality of voice ... a sort of authoritative voice but with a lot of warmth" to complement Nala's sensible yet nurturing personality. After attending a series of callbacks, during which Kelly returned to Disney several times to re-read the character's lines, Kelly was selected as one of two finalists. Kelly would not officially be offered the part until several months after her audition; Disney's first choice for the role remains undisclosed. Actor Matthew Broderick, voice of Simba, had already begun recording alongside another actress who had been cast as Nala before that actress was replaced with Kelly. Broderick was not informed that his original co-star had been recast, and only learned that Nala was voiced by Kelly at the film's premiere.