Moana star Michael Alisa on rejecting critics and creating a legacy for the next generation

One of Moana's undoubtable breakthrough stars says it was "pure luck" he landed a role in the live-action film.

Michael Tuatagaloa Alisa stars as Moana's ancestor, Matai, or "Tautai" Vasa, in the latest rendition of Moana - a film that his sister convinced him to audition for.

"My sister luckily talked me into it. She reminded me - when is the next time they're going to make a movie like this, where Pacific Islanders are playing Pacific Islanders?" Alisa said.

"I feel so lucky. There are so many people who I felt like could have been this role, and it honestly felt like just being in the right place at the right time," Alisa added.

While his character only has a minor role with no speaking parts, the presence and impact of Tautai Vasa remained central to the storyline of Moana and her wayfinding journey.

"She looks back to her ancestor, and this idea in her village of 'you don't go beyond the reef' ... she looks back to her ancestors and sees this strong figure who was brave, who went voyaging, who risked it all for his people, and she draws strength and courage from this person who was, you know, her how many great grandfathers ago," Alisa said.

It is without a doubt an important part in the film, where the themes of culture, heritage and identity merge to support Disney's first-ever Polynesian heroine.

"So many times on set I was tearing up because I felt that personally in my life, of thinking of my ancestors, thinking of my grandparents, of them watching over me, of guiding me, of cheering me on," Alisa said.

'A cream of the crop experience'

Alisa is Samoan, and was born and raised in Hawai'i. He is already wellknown across social media, where he makes content alongside his wife, Braelyn.

But his journey into the acting sphere was a gradual one.

"I actually wanted to be a football player. I played college ball at Brigham Young University, and wanted to go to the NFL.

But that did not end up happening and his "heart was shattered".

"I went into sales and business, then took my first acting class in 2020," Alisa said.

"I remember my first monologue - I totally bombed it, and it was so embarrassing, but my heart was pounding. I remember thinking, this is the same feeling that I had when playing football, performing.

"There's a lot of pressure, it's high stakes, and just that excitement, that adrenaline rush of do or die, basically. So that was when I fell in love [with acting]."

Alisa is particularly humble about his role.

"I was telling my wife, I was like, 'you know what? Even if, for whatever reason I never get into another film again, and Moana is the only film I end up in for the rest of my life, I'm so glad it was this one'. To me, that was a dream. Being in that film was so important, a cream of the crop experience, personally," Alisa said.

More than a remake

While the arrival of Moana's live-action has drawn much adoration from whānau and communities from around the world, specifically Pacific communities, the film has also copped a lot of flack.

On Rotten Tomatoes, the industry's most widely recognised review aggregator, it sits at a dismal 33 percent, with unfavourable headlines posing the question: "who asked for this?"

Alisa told RNZ Pacific he rejects the critical echo chamber.

"To me, the criticism seemed clickbaity. It seemed like people were just wanting to bash something they hadn't even seen yet. They were more upset that another live-action was being made ... or that it was too soon after the second," he said.

"I've also seen the other side of people who are now starting to finally see it, seeing that there is a difference, and people who are seeing the reaction of Pacific Islanders on social media, they're saying, 'Okay, wow!' This actually really affected this entire population that we hadn't really even considered, how important this would be for them," Alisa added.

It is a point that hits home for Alisa, with him and his wife welcoming a baby girl, Tahiti Rae Tausala Alisa, in May.

Alisa believes there is a point to be made in seeing a Polynesian heroine on the big screen, platformed by a company like Disney.

"I cannot believe that my daughter gets to grow up in a world where that's a reality," Alisa said.

"She will grow up knowing that there is an importance here, and there is value here, feeling pride in who she is and where she comes. I think that is priceless. I get choked up because I got so many messages from people saying they were crying in the theatre," he said.

"Me and my wife cried in the theatre, just because you feel that, and you think about all the generations that came before us. What would they be thinking if they could see this now? All the generations coming after us, we want to give the best world to theme, and hopefully they continue to blow us all away," he said.

"It's huge to me, this character being a woman who is wanting to find herself, and in order to do that, she needs to look back to her roots, be brave and believe. Draw this inner strength in her to go, and do something that is going to now serve the great good, something bigger than herself," Alisa added.

"So even that message, whether you're Pacific Islander or not, I think that's something that every culture can relate to, and so hopefully people who were critics before ... get a chance to actually watch it and see how much more powerful it is with real people, real faces, real tears, and can feel that through the screen."

Working alongside 'The Rock'

Alisa explained the set as a unique experience, with every part of the process handled with care and grace.

It included watching the falas being built by people who were flown in from around the world, to make sure they were done correctly.

"I wanted to soak up as much as I could, and I feel like I was able to do that. Talking with the more well-known actors, John Tui, Frankie Adams, obviously Rina Owens. These people were just the most down-to-earth, cool, great leaders. Because I was on the fringes - I wasn't quite a background, but I was a named character, so around them a bit more, they were just so nice," Alisa said.

They all had invaluable pieces of advice to impart, Alisa said.

On his last day of filming, he was able to meet Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, which he descirbed as "the coolest experience" ad "a full circle moment".

"This man (Johnson) who was my hero growing up, who was my first point of representation in entertainment, meeting him on set of my first film was crazy ... he walks up and says, 'Hey, how was that? How was that bodybuilding competition that you just did?' And he was asking him about my personal life, we talked for about 10 minutes, and then said goodbye," Alisa said.

"To me, that was enough. I was already on cloud nine.

"Later that night, he calls me and tells me how wonderful was meeting me, how great that last scene was. [he] thanked me for bringing the mana to that scene, and just thought that it was going to be so beautiful, and wanted to invite me to the Moana 2 premiere as his special guest VIP. That's the kind of guy he is," Alisa said.

"He went the extra mile ... and made me feel loved and thought about. That's the kind of guy that he is. So, seeing working with all these people, especially Dwayne Johnson, was an experience in itself. So special."