After her roles in Les Misérables and both Mamma Mia! films, Amanda Seyfried is certainly no stranger to a big-screen musical adaptation.
However, she’s revealed there was one major musical role that recently evaded her, despite her best efforts to land the part.
In an interview with Backstage, the Mean Girls star was asked for the “wildest thing” she’s ever done in order to bag a role.
“I have dreams that I’m still auditioning for Wicked,” she said. “Last summer while I was playing Elizabeth [on The Dropout, for which she was nominated for an Emmy], on the weekends I was auditioning in person to play Glinda in the movie version of Wicked...
“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’. I literally bent over backwards while playing the hardest role of my life.
“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 Mis, 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.”
The part of Glinda eventually ended up going to pop singer Ariana Grande, with Broadway performer Taylor Louderman revealing she also tried out to play the character.
Director Jon M Chu recently said that both Ariana and co-star Cynthia Erivo “brought our little audition room to tears multiple times” while trying out for the roles of Glinda and Elphaba.
It was recently revealed that Wicked would be split into two parts, with filming currently underway in London, according to reports.
