{"id":6149,"date":"2026-07-07T18:00:07","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T17:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/?p=6149"},"modified":"2026-07-07T18:09:26","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T17:09:26","slug":"moana-star-catherine-lagaaia-disney-live-action-proud-nepotism-label","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetab.com\/filmshrine\/2026\/07\/07\/moana-star-catherine-lagaaia-disney-live-action-proud-nepotism-label\/","title":{"rendered":"Star of Disney\u2019s new live-action Moana is ‘proud’ of inheriting nepotism for role"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ahead of her big screen debut as Moana in the upcoming live-action remake<\/a>, Catherine Laga’aia has spoken about the benefits she\u2019s received as a daughter of a Star Wars actor – and she\u2019s embracing her nepotism label.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Although Disney\u2019s<\/a> live-action remakes have been divisive to say the least, the House of Mouse is charging ahead, with Moana set to land in cinemas on Friday, July 10th.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The film adapts the 2016 animated hit of the same name, with Dwayne \u2018The Rock\u2019 Johnson playing Maui, alongside Rena Owen, John Tui, and Frankie Adams as Gramma Tala, Chief Tui, and Sina.<\/span><\/p>\n

Laga\u2019aia was announced in the title role in 2024, and if you recognise the name, it\u2019s because she\u2019s the daughter of Jay Laga’aia, the actor best known for portraying Captain Typho in Star Wars<\/a> movies Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jay
Credit: 20th Century Fox<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Despite the ongoing debate around star casting and nepotism in Hollywood, the Moana actress is not shying away from it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a conversation with <\/span>People<\/span><\/a>, she joked, \u201cI inherited nepotism, that\u2019s for sure. I\u2019ll take that anytime.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think having my dad in the industry, as well as wanting to do the OG proud, and wanting to do the people who love the movies proud, I feel my biggest thing was I wanted him to be proud,\u201d Laga\u2019aia added.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows what\u2019s good, he knows what he likes. I\u2019m someone on his side. That\u2019s the part of my family that I\u2019m representing.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo coming back to that, it\u2019s like \u2018What would my dad do?\u2019, but it\u2019s also I need him to be, at the end of the day, proud of the legacy that I\u2019m extending for him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Aussie actress also spoke about growing up with seven siblings in a \u201cvery little bubble,\u201d and wanting to differentiate herself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEven my little house felt like a little Motunui, we had so many people always running around,\u201d she continued. So when she landed the role of Moana, she felt \u201cI\u2019ve got my thing now.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

For all the latest film and TV updates and hot takes, <\/i>like our Facebook page<\/a><\/span><\/i>.<\/i><\/p>\n

Featured image credit: David Fisher\/Shutterstock\/Disney<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

‘I inherited nepotism, that’s for sure’<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":6151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[99,4,267],"coauthors":[17],"class_list":["post-6149","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-disney","tag-film","tag-moana"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nStar of Disney\u2019s new live-action Moana is 'proud' of inheriting nepotism for role<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Catherine Laga'aia, the star playing Moana in the Disney live-action remake, has said she's proud of her nepotism label.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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