Wicked’s Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo choke up reflecting on how their characters changed them

Wicked stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were close to tears talking about the effect their roles had on them.

The film, which has already smashed box-office records for a Broadway adaptation, follows Wicked Witch of the West Elphaba (Erivo) and good witch Glinda (Grande) long before Dorothy dropped into Oz, focusing instead on their time at Shiz University and rivalry-turned-friendship as prejudice increases against the magical world’s talking animals.

The hype has been immense, both from Broadway aficionados, who have longed to see the hit musical on the big screen – and will be thrilled by one special cameo – and LGBTQ+ people who connect with Elphaba’s otherness.

Promotional ploys including lighting the Arc de Triomphe green and pink and renaming Greenwich to Greenwitch.

The two stars told PinkNews how their respective characters changed them “for good”, a nod to the stage production’s second-act tearjerker song, which will feature in Wicked: Part Two in 2025.

“She has given me a new strength and ability to listen to certain voices maybe I wouldn’t listen to before, from my inside,” Grande said of Glinda. “That ability to trust myself.

“Maybe, coming into this experience, I was a little bit of a recovering people-pleaser and Glinda, in the most graceful way, is very sure of what she needs. It’s OK to know that and to have boundaries.

“I also am grateful for her ability to make really heavy things feel light and maybe that’s something I already had but didn’t know to be proud of. That’s why I’m here, because of that adjacent thing we share.”

Erivo admitted that before joining the project she knew “vulnerability was one of my strong suits” but “didn’t get to share it as much”, asking: “Why am I feeling emotional about that?”

Grande suggested: “Because it’s true,” before her co-star continued: “Playing Elphaba has given me the chance to put [vulnerability] on the outside. I think people often assume that I’m strong… assume my feelings aren’t at the surface.

“Elphaba allowed me to show that I’m a person and I feel, and I have feelings and I can share them.

“Someone said to me once that the green was the thing that I would love the most about Elphaba, that I would want to stay green. But actually… being green yes, I loved playing this character, but every time I took the makeup off, I loved who I was even more.

“I’ve come away feeling really beautiful,” she added, seemingly on the verge of tears.

Grande chipped in there, saying: “You f**king are.”

Erivo also spoke about what a younger version of herself could have learned from Elphaba, especially in relation to her queerness.

“That she was all right as she was,” the Harriet star said. “That the things she was keeping to herself were special and only made her more her. I’m glad I’ve come to it now though. I’m glad I’ve had a journey to it because I can own it fully, which I’m already proud of.”

Wicked is in cinemas now.

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