Moana 2 star Auli‘i Cravalho is more than a Disney princess

NEW YORK – On a chilly November evening, wearing a light leather jacket and a scarf, American actress Auli‘i Cravalho was freezing as she plunged through a pair of gleaming doors into a candlelit bar in midtown Manhattan.

“I do not know how people layer here. I’m in total awe,” said Cravalho, who had just come from a photo shoot at a park on the Lower East Side.

Like the plucky young heroine she voices in Disney’s Moana films (2016 to present) – the sequel, Moana 2, was the top-grossing film in Singapore over the past weekend – Cravalho grew up in a tropical climate in Kohala, Hawaii.

But recently, the 24-year-old had been living in an apartment in the New York neighbourhood of Hell’s Kitchen, with her partner and her best friend, while starring in the Broadway revival of Cabaret. Cravalho plays singer Sally Bowles in the John Kander and Fred Ebb musical, first staged in 1966, about a Berlin nightclub during the rise of fascism.

That night would be her first back in the show since she sat out a few performances after she “had come this close to vocal haemorrhaging”.

“I have a newfound respect for the leads of these musicals because, my gosh, it is tough,” said Cravalho. It had been a whirlwind few weeks, but she was gregarious as she sipped tea poured from a miniature teapot.

In addition to performing an emotionally demanding role eight times a week, there were promotional appearances for Moana 2, the follow-up to the 2016 Polynesian animated adventure – a global phenomenon that was the most-streamed movie on any American platform in 2023, according to Nielsen.

Now, Moana is back to lead a new adventure. And like Cravalho, who was 16 in her screen debut, she has grown up, accompanied by new friends and a younger sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda); new composers in TikTok duo Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear; and facing a new villain, the mysterious Matangi (Awhimai Fraser).

Cravalho has also been playing grittier roles, such as the moody skater AJ Campos in the romantic comedy Crush (2022), the angsty Janis in the 2004 Mean Girls reboot, and now the self-destructive Sally in Cabaret.

“I’ve definitely gone beyond the reef,” said Cravalho, referencing a line spoken by her character’s father in the original film. “The island that I thought was so big, I now recognise is pretty small.”

In an hour-long conversation, Cravalho talked about her breakout role, her Broadway debut and why she will be playing a high school sophomore “until I’m in my early 30s”.

You were 14 when you were cast as Moana. What do you remember about the day you got to share the news?

My name was no longer Auli‘i – everyone called me Moana up and down the hall, including some of my teachers.

You have said that you want to take on roles that challenge you as an actor. Were you worried you would be pigeonholed as a Disney princess?

I am not worried about being pigeonholed with Moana because she and I truly are like this (crosses fingers). We are so alike in so many ways.

But in other roles that I audition for, I do want to make sure that they are different, and that they are challenging and that the women that I play are not just good people. I want them to make mistakes, I want them to have their vices. I want them to make bad decisions and hurt other people, because that is what is real.

Are you recognised in real life?

It happens a lot with parents, who will be like, “Oh, my gosh, take a picture, take a picture”, to their young child, and their child is like, “Who is this stranger?” And then sometimes when people hear my voice, they turn and they either say, “Oh, you have such a pretty voice”, or they’re like, “Do I know you?”

It is the funniest thing when their brain kind of knows, but their eyes cannot put a face to the voice. I think the short hair also does that. Once I wear my long hair, I get recognised instantly.

It has been eight years since the first film came out, and Moana is three years older in the sequel. How have you grown up along with the character?

I absolutely owe the start of my career to Moana, and I have done roles now that have stretched me as an actor and made me grow as a person. But I also find myself deeply connected still to Moana, in that I miss my family all the time when I’m gone.

You recently made your Broadway debut as Sally Bowles, the self-destructive nightclub singer of the musical Cabaret. Were you looking for an edgier role?

I have played a lot of high school roles, understandably so – I’m only 24. I plan to be playing high schoolers until I am in my early 30s, at least. But it sometimes gets a little repetitive, so I was looking for something new. And boy, oh boy, did I manifest this one.

What is the most challenging part of performing on Broadway eight times a week?

Maintaining that consistency of emotion and going on that roller coaster every night. I feel like I learn more and more about Sally, and I ask more questions about her as the shows progress. I started off with her being pretty open, and now I play her a little more jaded, which I like, because I think that fits with her personality.

What do you want to do next?

I am looking forward to directing, to producing, to starting a production company. And I truly believe that all those things will happen in their own time. But I have so much growth to do before then. I grew up without a television. NYTIMES