How Catherine Laga'aia beat out 32,000 applicants to play live-action 'Moana'

The anticipation is growing for the live-action "Moana" to hit theaters.

The film stars Catherine Laga'aia in the title role and Dwayne Johnson as Maui (he voiced the same role in the original animated version).

The cast is currently on a global press tour, and at the the U.K. event, Johnson revealed a fascinating stat of just how many people wanted the lead role.

"There were 32-thousand applicants to play Moana, over 32-thousand, and it went to her," Johnson explained. "She took this incredible story of 'Moana' that's beloved and she put it on her shoulders. And that's hard to do, that takes guts."

Director Thomas Kail revealed why Laga'aia was the right one to play Moana.

"She has that thing, you know, that thing that I say, you can only coach it, you can't teach it," Kail told the press in Sydney.

Laga'aia recalled the day she got the call from Kail that she'd received the role.

"He told me, 'this is the best news I get to deliver today.' And just a rush of emotion, I'm gonna be honest, I don't remember much after that! But there (were) tears and kind of hysterical laughter so yeah, it was a very surreal experience," she said.

When speaking with On The Red Carpet's George Pennacchio, Laga'aia recalled watching the original "Moana" as a child and feeling a part of that world.

"To come to the realization that it's a true representation of me, that I have this deeper connection to it through being a Pacific Islander, I think that was something that was really cool to come to terms with," she said.

"Moana" is in theaters July 10.

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