MOVIES: TALKING HOUSEHOLD OBJECTS ARE SCENE-STEALERS IN “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST”

A gentlemanly candelabra and a fastidious mantel clock. These are just two of the memorable characters in Disney's Beauty and the Beast, specifically, the enchanted household objects who can now speak as a result of the spell that transformed their master, a young Prince, into a Beast.

The household objects are the former members of the castle’s staff, including: Lumière (Ewan McGregor), a candelabra; Cogsworth (Ian McKellen), a mantel clock; Mrs. Potts (Emma Thompson), a teapot; Madame de Garderobe (Audra McDonald), a wardrobe; Plumette (Gugu Mbatha-Raw), a feather duster; and Maestro Cadenza (Stanley Tucci), a harpsichord. Hopeful that Belle (Emma Watson) may finally be the one to capture the heart of the Beast (Dan Stevens), they watch and wait for any signs of true love that will break the curse.

Two-time Golden Globe® nominee Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge) is Lumière, the Prince’s proper French valet turned candelabra. Frequently at odds with Cogsworth and besotted with Plumette, it is Lumière who sings the show’s most extravagant musical number, “Be Our Guest.” The actor was unfamiliar with the song when he first arrived on set, but quickly became a fan, delivering a performance that would have made Maurice Chevalier proud.

MOVIES: DAN STEVENS IS A PRINCE TRANSFORMED BY A CURSE IN “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST”

Attaining global stardom and acclaim for his performance as the dashing Matthew Crawley in the Golden Globe®-winning drama Downton Abbey, Dan Stevens now stars in Disney’s live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast, opposite Emma Watson’s Belle.

The British thespian plays the Beast, a spoiled and arrogant Prince transformed by the curse of an enchantress.

Of particular importance to the filmmakers was determining the fine line between man and beast, as there are moments when rage overwhelms the character and makes him more beastly, yet there are other times when he is quite gentle.

“[Director] Bill Condon and I spent a lot of time talking about how we could add some nuances to my character to make him more dimensional than the Beast from the animated film,” says Stevens. “It was quite interesting, trying to find those little human beats that would make him less animalistic and more a human trapped inside this creature.”