Cynthia Erivo Was Relieved Ariana Grande Beat Out 2 Other Actresses forWickedRole: 'Thank Goodness'

Mar. 15, 2025

Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba inWicked(2024).Photo:Universal Pictures

Universal Pictures

In a joint interview withThe New York Timespublished Nov. 6, Erivo, 37, said it was “no surprise whatsoever” to her when she learned Grande had gotten the role of Glinda.

“I said, ‘Thank God,’ " added Grande, 31, after which Erivo said, “Thank goodness, because it was not the two ladies that I was auditioning with.”

“Oh my God!” said Grande in reply.

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Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo at the Australian premiere ofWicked/em> in Sydney on Nov. 3, 2024.Don Arnold/WireImage

Don Arnold/WireImage

While Erivo did not name who else she had auditioned,Amanda Seyfriedrevealed back in 2022 that she tried out for the part of Glinda while filmingThe Dropout.

“On the weekends, I was auditioning in person to play Glinda in the movie version ofWicked— because I wanted it that much that I was like, ‘You know what? Yeah, I have to play the last scene ofThe Dropouton Tuesday. I’ll give my Sunday to you,’ " said Seyfried, who didn’t get the part of Glinda but did go on to win anEmmyforThe Dropout.

She continued, in part, “Iliterally bent over backwardswhile playing the hardest role of my life. But I think it also taught me how far I’ve come as a singer, which I really wanted to prove.”

But there was a time when it was possible neither Grande nor Seyfried, 38, would be Glinda. In a recent interview withSFX Magazine,WickeddirectorJon M. Churevealed heoriginally considered “no-namers"for both the lead roles, as the Broadway musical the film is based on is “a big enough property on its own, so we can discover two people.”

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Amanda Seyfried in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2023; Ariana Grande as Glinda inWicked(2024).Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Universal Pictures

Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Universal Pictures

“But then we got calls from all these great actresses who wanted to audition and we saw everybody, and they were all really great,” said Chu, 45. “Anyone could have done this role, except there weretwo people who were meant to do this role, for this particular movie at this particular time.”

Glinda is the role of a lifetime for Grande, who has long been open about the character being one of her dreams to play — but that doesn’t mean she didn’tface insecurities over her casting.

“I felt a little bit of the initial nervousness or the sort of preconceived notions about what I might be able to deliver or not deliver, or why I would be wrong or whatever,” the two-timeGrammywinner said during a Nov. 1 appearance on theSentimental Menpodcast.

While she understands some of the backlash, given her primarily pop-star background, she said she attempted to “just do the work” and be “the best I can,” adding, “I tried not to let it derail me.”

Wickedis in theaters Nov. 22.

source: people.com