In a new in-depth interview with the Huffington Post, Broadway favorite Keala Settle discussed her role in the new film The Greatest Showman, her showstopping number in the film, and the likelihood that she could bring the number to the Academy Awards stage come March.
Discussing her showstopping anthem, "This Is Me", Keala tells the Huffington Post, "It still really is hard for me to sing this song because I relate to it every day. I wake up in the morning and I look in a mirror and I go, 'Is this really all I got? Is this all the universe has given me?'"
She adds, "We're all feeling that way, every single one of us. It doesn't matter if you're a Victoria's Secret model or you're someone's 90-year-old grandma or you're a little kid who's getting bullied or you're that kid's bully, everybody feels like there's something going on that's more correct than what is. We all have to reach out to one another in that fear and we'd be surprised to hear, 'Me, too.'"
Discussing her upbringing in a musical family, and the powerful influence of her mother, Keala also described her struggles filming the movie while grieving her passing two years ago. Despite her grief, however, the film's star Hugh Jackman lent a helping hand in seeing Keala through production.
"When she was gone, I had to reach deep down and figure out why I was going to continue on. I said, 'Hugh, my mom is gone and I have no idea how to navigate this anymore.' And he was like, 'It's all right, babe. We got you.' And he wasn't lying."
With her solo being shortlisted for the Best Song Oscar, what are Keala's thoughts on a potential performance at the Oscars this year?
"Look, I'm just trying to have some celery with some hummus, OK? Just leave me alone. I'm just trying to come down,"
Read the full interview at The Huffington Post.
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