Ethan Slater has explained why hisWicked co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo get so emotional together.
Ahead of the film’s release on Friday (November 22), Grande and Erivo took part in a number of joint interviews to promote the movie.
Slater, who plays a Munchkin boy named Boq in the movie, recently toldToday that the two of them constantly joke about crying during interviews. “They’re so funny,” he said. “They’re both like, after a full day of junkets, ‘Well, we cried 100 times again. Everyone must be getting so annoyed.’ But I think it comes from a really genuine place.”
Wicked, based on the Broadway stage adaptation, is also an adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is meant to be a prequel to L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation.
It follows the story of Glinda the Good Witch and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West (Grande and Erivo) and how they met at Shiz University.
“I think it’s an emotional process to dive into characters who go through such a journey,” Slater added. “It’s been a really long and intense process. When you do that, you really bond with the people you’re around.”
Despite Slater being in a relationship with Grande for over a year, he thinks that the “Love Me Harder” singer and the Harriet actor “kind of are soul mates.”
“Their friendship is really real and really deep and really informed by the work that they did together. I think they’re getting to talk about and getting to reflect on it while they’re still in the midst of it,” he said.
Slater even admitted that he has cried as well while sitting with the press to talk about the movie. He reflected on one moment when he was alongside his co-star Marissa Bode, who plays Elphaba’s younger sister and is the first actor who uses a wheelchair to play the role.
He said he started to tear up when the interviewer addressed a comment made about Bode.
“One of the comments said, like, ‘Marissa, you’re an inspiration. I’m a wheelchair user who has always wanted to be an actor, and seeing you do this, I feel like I can pursue my dreams.’ The importance of representation, on top of her beautiful performance in the movie, was a really moving thing,” Slater said.
“It’s beautiful to see the impact that has and be part of that storyline with her. It’s an honor.”
