How Ariana Grande HelpedWickedCostar Bowen Yang Through a 'Worrisome' Low Point: 'Let's Get You Better'

Mar. 15, 2025

Ariana Grande, Bowen Yang.Photo:Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty; Scott Kirkland/Disney/GettyAriana Grandeoffered herWickedcostarBowen Yangsupport when she saw he needed a friend.Yang, theSaturday Night Livestar who plays Pfannee in the upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical, revealed in an interview withThe New Yorkerthat his pop-star costar “was there for me” when he had to fly back and forth from London to New York while filming bothWickedandSNL.As he toldThe New Yorker, while producerLorne Michaelswarned him about the schedule, he still thought he could pull it off.“I have my nootropics for focus, and I have my CBD oils for sleep. I can really overcome this,” Yang, 33, said of his mindset at the time, adding, “And I didn’t, and I couldn’t.”“It was a gradual accumulation of idling, getting dressed up with nowhere to go, feeling like it was sanding down whatever I had preserved from the week before atSNL— whatever was left over of my psychic tolerance,” he added, citing jet lag and occasionally sitting in his trailer without being called to set on some days.While filming in London, Yang stayed at a hotel in the city’s King’s Cross district separate from his cast mates. “This cannot sound anything but name-droppy, but Ariana Grande was reaching out and going, ‘Are you okay? Come over! Let’s just watch a movie. Let’s get you better,' " he recalled. “She was there for me in a true way.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Bowen Yang attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 15, 2024.Frazer Harrison/GettyReferring to her friend as “badass and incredible,” Grande, 31, said the nature of Yang balancing bothSNLandWickedwas “a little worrisome” and something she could relate to.“I understand what it feels like to travel back and forth so often and then have to perform the next day with no time for your body or mind to figure out what’s going on, and it is incredibly hard and unusual,” she toldThe New Yorker. “So I just wanted to make sure he had an ear and a hug and the support he needed.”Yang previously raved about his friendship with Grande, who plays Glinda in the film. As he spoke with PEOPLE at the third annualLas CulturistasCulture Awards in June,he called Grande"someone who will get on your level and just someone who has such a capacity for empathy."“I just find her to be so personal and down to earth in a way that is disarming, in a way that makes you think, ‘Oh, I totally forgot about the fact that you are who you are,' " he said.“She is — and I mean this so, so, so complimentarily — very emotional,” Yang added. “She’s a crier, and that’s the thing that I’m most jealous of. Any time someone is a good crier like this one [friend Matt Rogers] I’m like, ‘I kind of wish I had that.’ “The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Bowen Yang and Ariana Grande on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in March 2024.Will Heath/NBC/GettySpeaking with PEOPLE about his memoirViewfinderback in July,WickeddirectorJon M. Chushared that he — along with the film’s cast and crew — “got deep in there” when it came to the film.“Because of the camera, because it’s not a stage show, we get to go closer,” he continues. “We get to be more intimate. We get the camera two inches from their face, so we can see when they’re lying, when they’re not or when they’re lying to themselves. And that brings a lot of power to the show that you can’t have on a stage when you have to look forward to the back of the crowd.“The movie also starsCynthia Erivo,Jeff Goldblum,Ethan Slater,Michelle YeohandJonathan Bailey, among others.Wickedis in theaters Nov. 27, thenPart Twoarrives in Nov. 21, 2025.

Ariana Grande, Bowen Yang.Photo:Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty; Scott Kirkland/Disney/Getty

Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty; Scott Kirkland/Disney/Getty

Ariana Grandeoffered herWickedcostarBowen Yangsupport when she saw he needed a friend.Yang, theSaturday Night Livestar who plays Pfannee in the upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical, revealed in an interview withThe New Yorkerthat his pop-star costar “was there for me” when he had to fly back and forth from London to New York while filming bothWickedandSNL.As he toldThe New Yorker, while producerLorne Michaelswarned him about the schedule, he still thought he could pull it off.“I have my nootropics for focus, and I have my CBD oils for sleep. I can really overcome this,” Yang, 33, said of his mindset at the time, adding, “And I didn’t, and I couldn’t.”“It was a gradual accumulation of idling, getting dressed up with nowhere to go, feeling like it was sanding down whatever I had preserved from the week before atSNL— whatever was left over of my psychic tolerance,” he added, citing jet lag and occasionally sitting in his trailer without being called to set on some days.While filming in London, Yang stayed at a hotel in the city’s King’s Cross district separate from his cast mates. “This cannot sound anything but name-droppy, but Ariana Grande was reaching out and going, ‘Are you okay? Come over! Let’s just watch a movie. Let’s get you better,' " he recalled. “She was there for me in a true way.”Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Bowen Yang attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 15, 2024.Frazer Harrison/GettyReferring to her friend as “badass and incredible,” Grande, 31, said the nature of Yang balancing bothSNLandWickedwas “a little worrisome” and something she could relate to.“I understand what it feels like to travel back and forth so often and then have to perform the next day with no time for your body or mind to figure out what’s going on, and it is incredibly hard and unusual,” she toldThe New Yorker. “So I just wanted to make sure he had an ear and a hug and the support he needed.”Yang previously raved about his friendship with Grande, who plays Glinda in the film. As he spoke with PEOPLE at the third annualLas CulturistasCulture Awards in June,he called Grande"someone who will get on your level and just someone who has such a capacity for empathy."“I just find her to be so personal and down to earth in a way that is disarming, in a way that makes you think, ‘Oh, I totally forgot about the fact that you are who you are,' " he said.“She is — and I mean this so, so, so complimentarily — very emotional,” Yang added. “She’s a crier, and that’s the thing that I’m most jealous of. Any time someone is a good crier like this one [friend Matt Rogers] I’m like, ‘I kind of wish I had that.’ “The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Bowen Yang and Ariana Grande on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in March 2024.Will Heath/NBC/GettySpeaking with PEOPLE about his memoirViewfinderback in July,WickeddirectorJon M. Chushared that he — along with the film’s cast and crew — “got deep in there” when it came to the film.“Because of the camera, because it’s not a stage show, we get to go closer,” he continues. “We get to be more intimate. We get the camera two inches from their face, so we can see when they’re lying, when they’re not or when they’re lying to themselves. And that brings a lot of power to the show that you can’t have on a stage when you have to look forward to the back of the crowd.“The movie also starsCynthia Erivo,Jeff Goldblum,Ethan Slater,Michelle YeohandJonathan Bailey, among others.Wickedis in theaters Nov. 27, thenPart Twoarrives in Nov. 21, 2025.

Ariana Grandeoffered herWickedcostarBowen Yangsupport when she saw he needed a friend.

Yang, theSaturday Night Livestar who plays Pfannee in the upcoming film adaptation of the Broadway musical, revealed in an interview withThe New Yorkerthat his pop-star costar “was there for me” when he had to fly back and forth from London to New York while filming bothWickedandSNL.

As he toldThe New Yorker, while producerLorne Michaelswarned him about the schedule, he still thought he could pull it off.

“I have my nootropics for focus, and I have my CBD oils for sleep. I can really overcome this,” Yang, 33, said of his mindset at the time, adding, “And I didn’t, and I couldn’t.”

“It was a gradual accumulation of idling, getting dressed up with nowhere to go, feeling like it was sanding down whatever I had preserved from the week before atSNL— whatever was left over of my psychic tolerance,” he added, citing jet lag and occasionally sitting in his trailer without being called to set on some days.

While filming in London, Yang stayed at a hotel in the city’s King’s Cross district separate from his cast mates. “This cannot sound anything but name-droppy, but Ariana Grande was reaching out and going, ‘Are you okay? Come over! Let’s just watch a movie. Let’s get you better,' " he recalled. “She was there for me in a true way.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Bowen Yang attends the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 15, 2024.Frazer Harrison/Getty

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Referring to her friend as “badass and incredible,” Grande, 31, said the nature of Yang balancing bothSNLandWickedwas “a little worrisome” and something she could relate to.

“I understand what it feels like to travel back and forth so often and then have to perform the next day with no time for your body or mind to figure out what’s going on, and it is incredibly hard and unusual,” she toldThe New Yorker. “So I just wanted to make sure he had an ear and a hug and the support he needed.”

Yang previously raved about his friendship with Grande, who plays Glinda in the film. As he spoke with PEOPLE at the third annualLas CulturistasCulture Awards in June,he called Grande"someone who will get on your level and just someone who has such a capacity for empathy.”

“I just find her to be so personal and down to earth in a way that is disarming, in a way that makes you think, ‘Oh, I totally forgot about the fact that you are who you are,' " he said.

“She is — and I mean this so, so, so complimentarily — very emotional,” Yang added. “She’s a crier, and that’s the thing that I’m most jealous of. Any time someone is a good crier like this one [friend Matt Rogers] I’m like, ‘I kind of wish I had that.’ "

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Bowen Yang and Ariana Grande on ‘Saturday Night Live’ in March 2024.Will Heath/NBC/Getty

Will Heath/NBC/Getty

Speaking with PEOPLE about his memoirViewfinderback in July,WickeddirectorJon M. Chushared that he — along with the film’s cast and crew — “got deep in there” when it came to the film.

“Because of the camera, because it’s not a stage show, we get to go closer,” he continues. “We get to be more intimate. We get the camera two inches from their face, so we can see when they’re lying, when they’re not or when they’re lying to themselves. And that brings a lot of power to the show that you can’t have on a stage when you have to look forward to the back of the crowd.”

The movie also starsCynthia Erivo,Jeff Goldblum,Ethan Slater,Michelle YeohandJonathan Bailey, among others.Wickedis in theaters Nov. 27, thenPart Twoarrives in Nov. 21, 2025.

source: people.com