By now, we all know Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were very glad to be cast together as Elphaba and Glinda in the Wicked movie. And while the two were promoting the film, you might recall that Cynthia made a pretty shady dig about the other actors she auditioned with during the lengthy search for Glinda.
Despite both landing the roles, Cynthia and Ariana never actually read together during the audition process, which is kind of wild when you think about it. So, when asked about her reaction to Ari’s eventual casting during an interview with the New York Times in November, Cynthia said: “Thank goodness, because it was not the two ladies I was auditioning with.”
At the time, fans were losing it over Cynthia’s shade. Many couldn’t decide if it was “classless” and “unprofessional” or just hilarious diva behavior. Criticizing the comment, one X user wrote: “Jokes aside, considering this movie is about female friendship this is a really bitchy thing to say. Like imagine how those 2 women feel reading this.”
And, of course, the main thing on everyone’s mind was the identity of the “two ladies” she sang with. From Dove Cameron to the Jonas Brothers, there were tons of reports about the famous folks vying for roles in the Wicked movie, and one person whose name came up a lot was Amanda Seyfried.
For years and years, Amanda had talked publicly about her lifelong desire to play Glinda, and in 2022, she revealed that she auditioned for the movie adaptation of Wicked at the same time she was playing Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout.
And now, in a new appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Amanda shared more details about the intense audition process — notably revealing that she was, in fact, one of the ladies to sing with Cynthia.
“I knew Wicked was coming, so I was able to really prepare, and I’m telling you, I’ve never felt that solid in my voice than I did at the auditions,” she told host Josh Horowitz, “and that’s kind of what I got out of it.”
Amanda obviously made peace with the fact that she didn’t get the role and has since praised Ariana’s Oscar-nominated performance in the film. Speaking in her new interview, she emphasized what a valuable experience the audition process was despite it not having the outcome she would’ve hoped for.
“I do, again, think everything happens for a reason,” she said before adding: “I also got to sing with Cynthia, and that was a moment in itself.”
Well, there you have it. The only question remains: Who was the other actor that sang with Cynthia? For what it’s worth, Renée Rapp said that she auditioned to play Glinda, although she didn’t specify that she actually sang with Cynthia, so who knows? Give me your guesses in the comments!
0 Comments