Jason Weaver, the original singing voice of Simba in Disney’s The Lion King (1994) has recently told Vlad TV in an interview that he originally turned down a rate of $2,000,000 opting for a royalty deal instead, according to Complex.
What’s Happening:
- At the time of recording, Jason Weaver was a minor so the salary decisions were all made by his mother, who felt it would be better to negotiate a royalty deal, in leiu of a $2M up front payment.
- Through the negotiations they were eventually able to reach a deal where Weaver took home $100,000 at first, followed by a share of royalties over time.
- Weaver later went on to say that through the royalty deal he has more than made up the difference in the original $2,000,000 offer.
- You may also remember Jason Weaver not only from his voice, but his role as T.J.’s older brother, Marcus on the ABC series, “Smart Guy,” (1997-1999) which later aired on the Disney Channel.
What They’re Saying:
- Jason Weaver: “I remember it was like $2 million, You gotta remember, they’re coming off of Beauty and the Beast. They’re coming off of Aladdin. Disney had bread. Disney had a reputation for re-releasing stuff, I think at that time they had put out Sleeping Beauty and some of their old catalog from when Walt Disney was alive. They were releasing that stuff when they were releasing the new Disney stuff, so she [Weaver's mother] was able to see the playing field and go, ‘Wait a minute, this is going to make a lot of money over time, so what happens when my son turns 40? Is he going to be able to get a check for this when they eventually re-release this."