Luke Evans found working with 'Beauty and The Beast' director Bill Condon to be ''magic''.

The 36-year-old actor has landed the part of arrogant baddie Gaston, alongside Emma Watson's Belle, in the remake of the Disney movie classic - and was thrilled the filmmaker who first brought the story to life on the silver screen in 1991 was on board.

Luke said: ''To be able to do 'Beauty and the Beast' with Bill Condon, I couldn't have dreamed that magic cocktail up in my head. And the fact that I got to do it, I got to sing, I got to play one of Disney's most famous bad guys...''

The Welsh star delved into the role and found the acclaimed director - whose recent credits include 'The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn', 'Mr Holmes' and 'The Fifth Estate' - also enjoyed revisiting the story.

Luke explained to Collider: ''I was 12. It's part of my life, part of my childhood and I got to bring him (Gaston) to life under the amazing, detailed attention of Bill who loved every second of it, is the happiest man I know and the most pleasant human being I could ever wish to be directed by.

''He was having the time of his life; we all were. I mean, come on, it's Disney. Everything about this film was a treat to see, to look, to watch, to be on set. It was magical.''