Ariana Grande’s that girl — but it could’ve been an Oscar nom.
The “Dangerous Woman” singer, 29, may have scored the coveted role of Glinda the Good Witch in the long-anticipated film adaptation of “Wicked,” but Amanda Seyfried revealed this week that she wasn’t just in the running, but trying to land the role while filming Hulu’s “The Dropout.”
“I have dreams that I’m still auditioning for ‘Wicked,’” the Academy Award-nominated “Mank” star, 36, told Backstage in a new interview.
While portraying Theranos founder-turned-convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes in summer 2021 — a role that earned Seyfried an Emmy nomination — the actress said she spent weekends “auditioning in person to play Glinda in the movie version of ‘Wicked’ — because I wanted it that much that I was like, ‘You know what? Yeah, I have to play the last scene of ‘The Dropout’ on Tuesday. I’ll give my Sunday to you.’”
The mom of two said she “literally bent over backwards while playing the hardest role of my life.”
Though the role, originated on the stage by Kristin Chenoweth, has since gone to Grande, Seyfried credits the experience with having “taught me how far I’ve come as a singer, which I really wanted to prove.
“Because ever since ‘Les Miz,’ I was like, I need to be better. I need to do better. So whatever comes next in terms of musicals, I’m finally prepared,” continued Seyfried, who played Cosette in Tom Hooper’s Oscar-winning 2012 film adaptation of the epic stage musical.
Seyfried has also showed off her singing chops in both the 2008 big screen adaptation of ABBA jukebox musical “Mamma Mia!” as well as the 2018 sequel, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.”
Grande and two-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo took to social media late last year to announce that they had been cast as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in Jon M. Chu’s two-part “Wicked” film. The first installment is currently slated for Christmas 2024.
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