Man who voiced Simba in Lion King turned down $2 million cheque and accepted royalties instead

While you might not recognise his name, you'll certainly recognise Jason Weaver's voice.

Having sung as young Simba in The Lion King, the actor starred in one of Disney's highest grossing films ever.

Despite this, he would eventually risk everything by turning down a $2 million (£1.6m) payday and accept royalties instead.

Disney

Unlike Timon and Pumbaa, Weaver definitely worried about turning down the insane payday.

Having come from a middle-class family in Chicago, the sum was life-changing and the singer was eager to sign the contract.

"I remember it was like $2 million," he told Vlad TV back in 2019, adding: "You gotta remember, they're coming off of Beauty and the Beast. They're coming off of Aladdin. Disney had bread."

Not knowing that the film would be a success, he was about to agree when his mum ultimately intervened.

“Immediately my mom goes, 'Wait a minute, OK, if they're willing to do that... that's it, that's all he'll ever get, for the remainder of his life?” Weaver explained.

"They were like, 'That's it, he takes the money, that's it,' she was like, 'No, let's negotiate royalties.'"

The now-43-year-old even revealed that Disney knew the film would do well at the box office and had predicted they would make a ‘s**t tonne' of money from it.

Thankfully, his gamble would pay off.

Not only would The Lion King win an Oscar for the soundtrack, it became a best seller - with fans buying 18 million copies in the US alone.

Vlad TV

Despite this, Weaver was paid just $100,000 (£80,400) upfront for his part in the 1994 film.

He added: "Disney had a reputation for re-releasing stuff. I think at that time they had put out Sleeping Beauty and some of their old catalogue from when Walt Disney was alive.

"They were releasing that stuff when they were releasing the new Disney stuff, so she [his mum] 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 cheque for this when they eventually re-release this.'"

However, Weaver would eventually be relieved he made the decision as the royalties more than made up for turning down the initial offer.

While he wouldn't reveal what he’d earned from the movie, its seems Weaver can always count on his mum.

Topics: Disney, Money, US News, TV and Film

Katherine Sidnell

Katherine is an entertainment journalist with a love of all things nerdy. Starting out writing Doctor Who fan fiction as a kid, she has gone on to interview the likes of Matt Damon, James May and Dua Lipa to name a few. Published in The Sun, The Daily Mail and Evening Standard - she now joins Ladbible as resident nerd in chief.

@ksidnell