Tag Archives: Wicked

Hannah Waddingham Finally Sets The Record Straight On Wicked Movie Audition Rumours

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Hannah Waddingham has responded to the rumour that she was, at one point, in the running for a role in the film adaptation of Wicked.

The Ted Lasso star got her start in musical theatre, racking up three Olivier nominations for her work in Spamalot, A Little Night Music and Kiss Me, Kate, as well as appearing in the film Les Misérables.

Because of her background in performing, word somehow got around online that Hannah had auditioned for the supporting role of Madame Morrible in Wicked, which eventually went to Michelle Yeoh.

However, while the British star has conceded she’d loved to have played the part on screen, she’s insisted she never actually auditioned – and by the time she got wind that the movie was happening, Michelle had seemingly already been cast.

“I didn’t!” she confirmed when asked by Variety about the rumours. “This is the funniest thing. We can put this to bed once and for all.”

The Emmy winner continued: “I would have loved to have been seen for that – but it was a fait accompli, as they say.”

Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible in Wicked
Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible in Wicked

She also teased that there is one musical theatre role she’s dying to bring to the big screen, but she’s “keeping it under my hat because I want to do it”.

Hannah is currently gearing up to return to the role of Rebecca Welton in Ted Lasso, after a three-year absence, during which it was thought that the Apple TV+ sports comedy had already come to an end.

In that time, Hannah has made no secret of her hopes for Ted Lasso to return, with the new episodes reuniting her with co-stars Jason Sudeikis, Nick Mohammed and Brett Goldstein.

“We thought we’d mourned the loss, and now it’s rising from the dead,” she said last year, adding that she thought news of the show’s return was “amazing”.

Read Hannah Waddingham’s full interview in Variety here.

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Cynthia Erivo Says ‘Bodyguard’ Jokes After Wicked Premiere Incident Were Rooted In Racism

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Cynthia Erivo is reflecting on the fall-out from an incident that took place at the premiere of the second Wicked film in Singapore last year.

In November 2025, Cynthia and her co-star Ariana Grande were attending the Wicked: For Good premiere when a man leapt over a barrier and grabbed the No Tears Left To Cry singer, before jumping up and down.

Viral footage of the incident showed the British performer stepping in to protect her co-star, which inspired jokes and memes referring to her as Ariana’s “bodyguard”.

However, in a new interview with Variety, Cynthia suggested that these jokes were evidence that society has not yet “come to terms with the insidious nature of how we view Black women”.

“I’m sure people will read this and think, ‘Oh, for goodness’ sake, it’s not about that.’ But it is,” she said.

Cynthia continued: “That’s what was being made fun of. It was my physique; it was my shape; it was the fact that I was bald; it was about what I looked like. And because of that, there was this assumption that I was bigger than my co-star and so I had to be controlling or protecting, and that was my role.

“I would hazard a guess that it would not have been the same had it been the other way around.”

Cynthia Erivo
Cynthia Erivo

via Associated Press

Later in the interview, Cynthia claimed that the incident in Singapore put her off campaigning for an Oscar for her work in Wicked: For Good.

She lamented: “I just felt like my humanity had been bastardised. I felt like something I did instinctively had been made to be something that it simply was not because of the way people see women who look like me, and because of the assumptions that are made, and I just didn’t want to be a part of that, really and truly.”

Cynthia added that people’s preconceptions about the second Wicked film being inferior to the first contributed to her not wanting to campaign for an Oscar.

In the end, Wicked: For Good was completely snubbed at the 2026 Oscars, despite the first film receiving 10 nominations (and two wins) a year earlier.

Speaking to Variety, Cynthia also spoke about the impact that the grueling Wicked promotional tour took on both herself and Ariana.

Read Cynthia Erivo’s full interview in Variety here.

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This A-Lister Was Turned Down For A Cameo In The Wicked Movie

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Last year’s hit film adaptation of Wicked was full of cameos for fans of the original stage show – but there was one that never actually made it to the big screen.

After dominating the box office in 2024, the movie musical recently had its home release, one iteration of which features commentary from director Jon M Chu.

During his commentary, Jon discloses that he was contacted by a certain heavyweight from the musical theatre world, who had a very specific cameo in mind before production got underway.

Referring to opening number No One Mourns The Wicked, Jon said (as reported by Gizmodo): “When that woman says, ‘Glinda, is it true you were her friend?’, I got many calls from Lin-Manuel Miranda.

“He might have publicly also tweeted that he wanted to be that voice and that person.”

Lin-Manuel Miranda
Lin-Manuel Miranda

via Associated Press

However, after mulling it over, Jon ultimately decided it would be “too distracting” to have Lin-Manuel pop up so early on in the film.

“So, sorry, Lin,” Jon added.

Indeed, the Hamilton creator first made it clear that he wanted to cameo in Wicked way back in 2016, when Stephen Daldry was still attached to direct the film version of the Tony-winning musical.

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WICKED MOVIE! FINALLY.
Dear Stephen Daldry: Can I play the guy who goes, \"Is it true you were her FRIEND?!\" https://t.co/vnrFyhvFzF

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) June 16, 2016

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WICKED MOVIE! FINALLY.
Dear Stephen Daldry: Can I play the guy who goes, “Is it true you were her FRIEND?!” https://t.co/vnrFyhvFzF

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) June 16, 2016

Two of the stand-out cameos from Wicked came from Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, who played the original Elphaba and Glinda on Broadway.

“It’s just so fun,” Jon said of Idina and Kristin’s unexpected appearances, explaining: “It was the middle of the night, and I think [for them] to see this giant set that we had built for a movie of a legacy that they built, these characters that they built from the ground up, was a beautiful thing for them to see.

“We were all, again, all in tears all the time. And then Idina gets to do her iconic war cry and same thing with Kristin, she gets to do her soprano. So fun.”

Part two of the story, titled Wicked For Good, is due to hit cinemas later this year.

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