Halle Bailey Cried After Watching First Footage of Her 'Little Mermaid' Performance (Exclusive)

Moved to tears! Halle Bailey is opening up about getting teary over seeing her magical transformation in The Little Mermaid.

The actress and singer spoke with ET's Kevin Frazier on the red carpet at this year's BET Awards, at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, and she revealed how she's seen a few scenes of Disney's live action take on the iconic story while doing post-production work, and it really moved her.

"I've seen little clips... and I cried the other day," Bailey recalled. "Because I was like, 'I don't understand how this is happening! How this is even me?'"

"It's very overwhelming," she added with a smile. "I get really emotional just talking about it."

While The Little Mermaid is currently in post-production -- and slated to hit theaters May 26, 2023 -- Bailey is also appearing in the upcoming film version of the musical adaption of The Color Purple.

"We're supposed to be wrapped next week, so crossing my fingers that we get it done, and I've been having a great time," she marveled. "I pinch myself every day on that set... to be a part of such a historic film that we've all known growing up."

"It's like, 'Wow, what can we do to make this even greater than it already is?' Because it's such an amazing base, and I'm just grateful to be part of the whole project."

The Color Purple -- which also stars Fantasia Barrino, Colman Domingo, Taraji P. Henson, Corey Hawkins, H.E.R., Ciara, and Danielle Brooks -- is set to come out Dec. 20, 2023.

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