Ariana Grande thinks she’d have “ended up in an insane asylum” if she hadn’t done so much preparation for ‘Wicked’.
The ‘Thank U, Next’ hitmaker portrays Glinda in the two-part adaptation of the beloved musical and she was determined to win the role on merit by pushing herself to the limit.
She recently told Britain’s HELLO! Magazine: “There were so many reasons why I wanted to do this but I wanted to earn it.
“Vocally it’s very different to what I usually sing, so I started training every single day with my vocal coach and my acting coach.
“Whatever was asked, I wanted to be able to drop in and really become Glinda.
“I gave my everything to it and paused everything else – I really wanted it.
“I do think, though, if it hadn’t happened I might have ended up in an insane asylum. It’s a very different experience than anything else, for sure.”
The 31-year-old star felt an “immediate safety” when she met co-star Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, for the first time and their bond helped them both throughout filming.
Recalling their first meeting, she said: “We were at her house. We talked about everything and giggled.
“I felt an immediate safety. And we made a pact to take care of each other.
“I was s******* my pants.
“But she’s the warmest human being.
“That promise that we made to each other and how we kept it is one of the things we’re proudest of.
“We have a lot of strange, similar, traumas and pains that we’ve been through.
“I’ve felt really isolated in mine because they’ve been somewhat specific.
“But playing a character that made me feel less alone, because they’re similar, is something I needed in my life.”
