A Hollywood star has spoken about working her ‘ass off for years and years’ auditioning for Wicked but failing to be cast.
In 2012 it was announced that the stage musical would be adapted for screen, however it wasn’t until 2021 when Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande were cast as Elphaba and Glinda.
However, in recent years Amanda Seyfried, who had previously starred in the movie musicals Les Misérables and the Mamma Mia! franchise, revealed she was desperate to be cast in Wicked too.
The 39-year-old, who was nominated for an Oscar for her role in 2020’s Mank, had previously said she had dreamed of playing Glinda since she was a child.
This week she went on to detail the intense schedule she put herself through in her efforts to secure the role.
‘I’m in that privileged spot where I just don’t have to [audition],’ she said on the latest episode of the Backstage’s In the Envelope podcast.
‘But I like, of course, I talked about this a lot. I auditioned like six times for Wicked.’
She went on: ‘Because that had to be really just right. And I like, I loved it.
‘I was busy. I barely had time to do it, but I made it work. I worked my ass off for years and years and years on that music.”
‘I’m just competitive with myself in a really healthy way.’
Earlier this year Amanda also spoke on the Happy Sad Confused podcast about singing with Cynthia, 38, while trying out for Glinda.
‘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. And that’s kind of what I got out of it,’ she told host Josh Horowitz.
‘I do, again, think everything happens for a reason.
‘I also got to sing with Cynthia, and that was a moment in itself.’
She had also once said she ‘bent over backwards’ to audition for the franchise, also working with a vocal coach and acting coach.
However, in November last year, Cynthia appeared to throw shade on Amanda when praising Ariana.
Speaking to The New York Times, Cynthia said it was ‘no surprise whatsoever’ to her when she learned Ariana had secured the role of Glinda.
‘Thank goodness, because it was not the two ladies that I was auditioning with.’ Renee Rapp and Dove Cameron had also been in the running to play Glinda.
For their starring roles in Wicked, Cynthia and Ariana, 32, were nominated for best actress and best supporting actress at the Oscars. Its sequel Wicked: For Good out in November this year.
Despite missing out on the role, Amanda later called the Wicked movie ‘fantastic’.
‘It’s an extravaganza, which is what she [Grande] does really well. And [my kids] have been playing the soundtrack nonstop. And everything is as it’s meant to be for sure,’ she said.
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