Nathan Lane & Ernie Sabella’s Improv Made It Into “The Lion King” | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

One of the things I always say is a is a. hallmark of a great career is uh that. depending on who you run into in any age. group, they're excited about a different. thing. And uh my my co-host today. sitting with me, David Hopping, uh who's. here uh accidentally because um uh Sona. couldn't be here. He lost his mind when. he found out that he was going to be in. a room with you because of The Lion. King. And he walking in, play was like,

"Do you mind sitting in today?" And I. was like, "With Disney royalty? Of. course I want to sit in here.". Yeah. We just did this thing at the. Hollywood Bowl. Uh it's going to I think. it's on it's airing soon. Um it was a. 30th anniversary I can't believe that. concert of you know Jennifer Hudson and. um yeah and a lot of people from the the. original cast and the new people and. people from the Broadway show is quite. the. oh that's so cool.

extravaganza but it was fun to be. reunited with Ernie Sabella who played. Pumba and he's an old friend and. I had some experience with this working. on the Simpsons but people don't realize. that voice work is none of it works if. it's not there in the voice. I don't. care how good the animation is. I don't. care how good the story is. If the actor. who's doing the voice can't capture it. Uh and I saw this on the Simpsons. These. people are just brilliant who do those,

you know, it's Hankazeria and Dan. Castanetta and this whole. if it's not there, you don't have. anything. And so to be one of those. iconic Disney voices. is uh pretty amazing. Yeah. again, sort of like a, you know, as a kid seeing those Disney films and. and and I was I was always sort of. fascinated by the voice actors and and. uh so to wind up doing that and and with. the a movie that. started as something called King of the.

Jungle and nobody seemed to be excited. about it. and and and then auditioning for Hyenas, you know, three hyenas and then Ernie. happened to be there, you know, we would. both doing Guys and Dolls on Broadway at. the time and he he had gone in first and. he was going to leave and he said I'll. I'll I'll stay and we'll get lunch. during this is during um I guess. rehearsal or anyhow we um and I said. well would it be all right if he came in.

and we read together because it's three. hyenas and it'll give me someone to play. off of and you know might be fun and and. then um you know like two months later. they said well we're developing these. two, you know, sidekick characters that. are the comic relief and, you know, a. warthog and a mircat. I said, "Great. My dream.". And my dream, you know, and then we started, it was. like a two-year process and you they. show you drawings and we said to them, "Well, what do you um how do you want.

them to sound?" And uh and they wanted. him to be lower pitched and me to have a. higher pitch voice. But they said, "You're doing Guys and Dolls, so they. should be like. Damon Renan characters, you know, in the. in the in the Serengeti." And um and so. Ernie was just doing he does a. combination of the no one will remember. a character actor named Wallace Beer. Oh yeah. Who used to talk like this and then also. a little bit of Michael Gatso from The.

Godfather who's really high up, you. know, your honor. You know that he does. So he does a combination of that and I'm. just doing a you know Brooklyn Jewish. mircat. That old thing. That old thing. Yeah. That's how sort of how they came to. life. And then Ernie used to, this was. the big joke was that we would we're. doing a show eight times a week and we. go in to record very early and you know. we're tired and so I'd be having coffee.

and we're going to start and Ernie would. just start making fart noises in the. middle of you know he sayone. and just to make me laugh and get me. going and then they put it in the. which is why Pumba is a the first. flatulent character in a Disney film. So that's literally just screwing around. that was screwing around to make you. chuckle.

Yes. You know little you know we improvised. They used a little of it. I mean. apparently I don't even remember half of. it but they. apparently I said you know what do you. want me to do? Dress and drag and do the. hoola for some reason. It must have been. a long day. And then they made it a. song. Now, here's where. the businessman in me says, "You need a. piece of that.". Yeah. Well, and I bet Disney is very easy to. negotiate with. Hey, Disney.

Get him on the phone. Yeah. Yeah. You let me talk to them. Okay, I'll handle it. All right. I've. got an in with Disney. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, he's a Disney guy. Yeah. Big Disney guy.