Dan Stevens, Emma Watson Chemistry Was Built On Stilts

03/17/2017 03:06 pm EDT

This weekend, the tale as old as time will be new once again.

With Beauty and the Beast, Disney is set to sweep audiences away with the epic recreation of the romance between Belle and her Prince.

It is the performance of Dan Stevens as the Beast that has yet to step into the light, but is equally important to making the movie work on the screen. And according to him, the proudest accomplishment on the set was recreating the film's iconic waltz alongside his co-star, Emma Watson.

"I suppose when I watch the achievement of the waltz, and the kind of collective achievement that Emma and I felt having completed that," he said. "Learning to waltz on stilts was not something I thought would enter my CV. It's a lovely moment, and it's literally the turning point of the movie. It's a very beautiful sequence."

ComicBook recently had the chance to speak with the cast and crew in Los Angeles, Stevens went on to explain that he and Watson created most of their on-screen chemistry during the many hours they spent practicing the dance.

"I was just delighted when I got to meet Emma," Stevens said. "First of all, we met mostly on the dance floor. We were training to learn the iconic waltz at the center. That's a very good way to get to know a co-star and break down barriers very quickly is to sort of bumble about on a dance floor and hopefully not fall over. And then of course, I had to learn it in stilts, so a lot of trust built there.

"When we sat down to talk about the fairy tale and the myth, I was just very excited to meet an actress who likes to engage these kind stories of fairy tale and myth in a big way. And looking at those themes of masculine and feminine energies, and the spectrum of those kind of things. The balances and imbalances that we see… we had some fantastic conversations about gender and all of that."

Beauty and the Beast is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle's enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast's hideous exterior and realize the kind heart and soul of the true Prince within.

Beauty and the Beast stars Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Oscar winner Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle's eccentric, but lovable father; Josh Gad as Lefou, Gaston's long-suffering aide-de-camp; Golden Globe nominee Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, the candelabra; Oscar nominee Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, the feather duster; six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald as Madame Garderobe, the wardrobe; Oscar nominee Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and two-time Academy Award winner Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.

Beauty and the Beast will be released in U.S. theaters on March 17, 2017 and currently has a 3.31-of-5 rating in the ComicBook User Anticipating Ratings.

-- Blair Marnell is a freelance writer for ComicBook. Follow him on Twitter for more of his insights.

MORE BEAUTY AND THE BEAST: Dan Stevens Finds The Beast Within | Beauty and the Beast Review | Beauty and the Beast Opens With A Big Night

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