Movies

Amanda Seyfried auditioned for Wicked while filming The Dropout: 'I wanted it that much'

Although Ariana Grande beat her out to play Glinda, Seyfried says that "whatever comes next in terms of musicals, I'm finally prepared."

By

Lester Fabian Brathwaite

Published on July 19, 2022 08:15PM EDT

If you ask us, the casting for the upcoming Wicked movie just feels right — in a world where so many things are wrong, Ariana Grande belting out "Popular" and Cynthia Erivo dropping several houses down to "Defying Gravity" is what we need. But in another place and time, Glinda might have been played by Amanda Seyfried.

Oz knows Seyfried tried her darndest to snag the part: In a new interview with Backstage, the Oscar-nominated actress revealed that she went so far as to audition for Glinda while still filming The Dropout, which she described as "the hardest role of my life."

"Last summer while I was playing Elizabeth [Holmes on The Dropout]," Seyfried said, "on the weekends I was 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.'"

Amanda Seyfried; Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda in the stage version of 'Wicked'. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; Joan Marcus

Seyfried is no stranger to musicals, having shown her chops in the movie version of Les Misérables as Cosette, the daughter of that film's eventual scene-stealer, Anne Hathaway's Fantine. And of course, there's Mamma Mia! and — lest we forget — Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

"I literally bent over backwards while playing the hardest role of my life," Seyfried said of auditioning in between black-turtlenecked monologues. "But I think it also 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."

Seyfried has not been shy about her desire to play Glinda, having hired a vocal coach and sent a recording of herself singing "Popular" to Wicked director John M. Chu.

"I've been campaigning for Wicked for five years," she told Variety's Awards Circuit podcast in 2021. "I've never been more ready to hit those notes." Seyfried even had a few choices in mind as to who might play her Elphaba: Hathaway, Anna Kendrick, or her "number one" choice, Samantha Barks (another Les Miz costar).

Alas, the Dropout star couldn't defy Grande's four-octave range, or really, destiny. As Kristin Chenoweth, the OG Glinda, once put it, Glinda was always Grande's. "From the very first day I met you," the coloratura soprano noted upon news of the pop diva's casting, "you were destined for this role."

But now that we know Seyfried's got the range, let's fire up some more movie musicals! What's that? A remake of Chicago?! With Amanda as Roxie and Catherine Zeta-Jones still doing Velma because why mess with perfection? You got it. And a 5-6-7…

Related content:

Amanda Seyfried auditioned for Wicked while filming The Dropout: 'I wanted it that much'

Related Articles