'Beauty and the Beast' star Luke Evans says playing Gaston is an 'honor'

— -- “Beauty and the Beast” live-action star Luke Evans said playing Gaston is an “honor.”

“You’re bringing an animated character that people have known for so long to life,” Evans, 37, said on “Good Morning America” today. “It’s an honor, but it’s so much fun. I couldn’t go far enough with the character. It was just brilliant.”

Evans, whose Hollywood resume includes movies like “The Fast and the Furious,” “The Hobbit” and “The Girl on the Train,” said getting to be a part of the revamped “Beauty and the Beast” was “very, very near the top, if not the top.”

“It’s one of those jobs you just love going into work to play. I didn’t want it to finish,” he said.

Evans was able to utilize his musical theater background in this role.

“I played Roger in ‘Rent’ and Chris in ‘Miss Saigon,’” he recalled. “I was even in ‘Avenue Q.’ I was one of the puppets. Singing was my first love, and I wanted to bring it back, and it was nice to be able to merge the film career with the musical theater career. And this was it. This was the role.”

“Beauty and the Beast” hits theaters March 17.

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