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Wicked director reveals brutal reason he originally didn’t want Ariana Grande to play Glinda

Home> Entertainment> TV & Film

Published 14:06 5 Dec 2024 GMT

Wicked director reveals brutal reason he originally didn’t want Ariana Grande to play Glinda

The 30-year-old singer almost missed out on the role of her dreams

Kya Buller

Kya Buller

Featured Image Credit: CBS Mornings / Universal Pictures

Topics: Wicked, Ariana Grande, TV And Film, Podcasts

Kya Buller
Kya Buller

Kya is a Journalist at Tyla. She loves covering issues surrounding identity, gender, sex and relationships, and mental health. Contact: [email protected]

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@kyajbuller

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Ariana Grande, who stars in John M. Chu's cinematic adaptation of the iconic musical Wicked, almost missed out on her dream role - a fact sure to shock viewers.

30-year-old Grande quite literally manifested playing Glinda (who later becomes Glinda the Good), opposite her co-star Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba (later known as The Wicked Witch of the West).

Back in 2011, Grande tweeted the now infamous post: "Loved seeing Wicked again... amazing production! Made me realise again how badly I want 2 play Glinda at some point in my life! #DreamRole."

And while critics and audiences are in complete agreement that it was the role Grande was born to play, and predict that she will sweep awards' season - the director almost didn't give her the role.

During an episode of The Love of Cinema podcast, Chu admitted: "I was like, ‘There’s no way she’s prepared for this. This is a huge movie. It takes a lot of experience to lead a movie. She can sing, but can she get to the vulnerable part of Glinda? Is she funny enough?’

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"And the moment she auditioned, she was the most interesting person in that room. But I didn’t believe it, so I brought her in again. And she was the most interesting person - I did not believe it.

"She had to do it a third time, and every time she proved herself over and over and over again, to a place where she was living [as] Glinda.

Ariana Grande stars alongside Cynthia Erivo (Saverio Marfia/Getty Images)
Ariana Grande stars alongside Cynthia Erivo (Saverio Marfia/Getty Images)

"When she showed up on set, she was Glinda. I didn’t have to direct her; I was just like, ‘Here’s a chair, jump over it,’ and she would jump over like Glinda. It felt like I was meeting this character in real life for the first time, and that the show was based on this real-life character."

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Ultimately, Grande had to audition three times in order to convince Chu she had the chops to pull it off - and then he was finally swayed.

He continued: "She proved herself over and over and over again, to a place where she was living [as] Glinda. When she showed up on set, she was Glinda.

"I didn’t have to direct her; I was just like, ‘Here’s a chair, jump over it,’ and she would jump over like Glinda."

Playing Glinda was Ariana Grande's dream role (Universal Pictures)
Playing Glinda was Ariana Grande's dream role (Universal Pictures)

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Further explaining just how perfect she was for the epic musical role, he concluded: "It felt like I was meeting this character in real life for the first time, and that the show was based on this real-life character."

Grande appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on 6 June, and he brought up her years-old tweet, telling her: "You did it!"

Grande gushed: "It’s just so surreal to see, of course, the response. You know, this is something that Cynthia and I lived every single day. The brilliant Cynthia Erivo.

"And you know it was ours for so long and it was just every single day for such a long time."

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