Singer From Original ‘Lion King’ Turned Down $2 Million & Took Royalties Instead

Actor and singer Jason Weaver provided the singing voice for Young Simba in the original version of The Lion King. In a recent interview with VladTV, he claimed to have turned down an initial $2 million offer from Disney in favor of $100,000 upfront and a share of royalties.

“I remember it was like $2 million,” said Weaver. “You gotta remember, they’re coming off of Beauty and the Beast. They’re coming off of Aladdin. Disney had bread.”

Weaver’s mother, however, was unswayed by the large check. After the initial shock wore off, she found out that he wouldn’t get any more money from Disney and then decided to negotiate royalties:

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 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?’

1994’s The Lion King has made more than $400 million in the US and nearly $1 billion worldwide in the box office alone, between its original theatrical run, 2002 IMAX re-release, and 2011 3D conversion. This year, there’s been renewed interest in the movie thanks to the remake featuring the voices of Donald Glover and Beyoncé.

Unsurprisingly, Weaver told VladTV that he has made enough money off royalties to make up for the difference between the $100,000 they took upfront and the initial $2 million offer.

The original Lion King soundtrack—which features Weaver on “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” and “Hakuna Matata”—was also a big seller, but it’s unclear what kind of publishing split Weaver’s agent negotiated. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and sold nearly seven million copies by the end of 1995.

Prior to The Lion King, Weaver played a preteen Michael Jackson in the 1992 ABC miniseries, The Jacksons: An American Dream. He would later land roles in Drumline and ATL. While performing under his singing name J-Weav, he nearly topped the Billboard Hot 100 by singing the chorus of Chingy’s hit, “One Call Away,” which peaked at No. 2 on the chart in March 2004.

Watch the full interview above, and read all the lyrics to the original Lion King soundtrack on Genius now.