Wicked’s Ethan Slater on ‘Dumb’ Self-Tape Audition for Boq and Therapy

Ethan Slater is trying to get used to the attention he gets for both his professional and private life.

He makes his big screen acting debut as the lovesick Boq in Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” opposite Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Baily, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum and Marissa Bode. Last year, Slater and Grande came under scrutiny when rumors of their relationship spread online, coinciding with reports of their respective divorces from former partners.

“My therapist, for sure,” says Slater when I ask who he leans on to handle the intense spotlight. “He’s been really helpful.”

Until now, the 32-year-old Washington DC native was best known and loved by Broadway fans for his Tony-nominated work in “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.”

“At the end of the day, what’s so important in so many facets of life, whether it’s fame or career or whatever, is just having a good group of people around you,” Slater says on the latest episode of “Just for the Variety” podcast. “I’m really lucky to have amazing friends and wonderful family who are grounded and helpful and loving and caring. This is kind of a crazy ride that’s just begun. ‘Wicked’ doesn’t come out for two whole days, three days . So it’s all just started, this whirlwind. But I’ve been really grateful to have good people to lean on, and hopefully that can lean on me.”

He asked Goldblum, who plays the wizard, for advice. “I was just like, ‘Hey, what do I expect? What’s coming?’ And his response was really funny to me. He just said, ‘Oh, I don’t know. I’ve never done anything like that before,'” Slater recalls. “First of all, that can’t be true. And he said, ‘Well, I think everything always feels like that, it always feels bigger. Find ways.’ … There was something, actually, really, a great relief that he didn’t really have the wherewithal to offer, beyond the normal kind of “Take it day by day,” because there’s something outrageous about promoting a movie and be a part of it. of something that so many people care about, and I don’t think it will ever feel completely normal… But it’s definitely an exciting roller coaster ride.”

The following questions and answers have been edited and condensed for clarity. Listen to the full interview on “Just for Variety” above, or wherever you find your favorite podcasts.

Want to do a “Glicked” double feature?

I hope so. I try to work it into the schedule so I can block off seven hours, go to IMAX just to get the full experience. I really wanted to.

This is your first big film. Are you the type of person who wants to go to the theater and sit in the back with your hat pulled down so you can see the audience’s reaction?

I am of two minds. I feel on the one hand I’ve loved being at these premieres and getting to see the movie with people. I’m so proud to be a part of this film and I’m so proud of everyone’s work in it, it’s just really nice to see it shared with people. And I love going to the movies, and I think going to the theater, which I go to see everything in, I think it’s potentially a very special thing. On the other side of that, I’m a little embarrassed.

It is not like you and Ariana could go on date night and just sneak in and no one will see you.

We put on hats and masks. There’s a buddy of mine (Danny Skinner) that I did “SpongeBob” with and we’ve seen all the “SpongeBob” movies and we went to see ours when it was shot. We couldn’t be more strikingly shaped. We really do look like SpongeBob and Patrick Star next to each other. It’s just the craziest silhouette. We went to see the tour in Philadelphia and tried to go incognito and everyone was like, “Oh, hey, Ethan. Hi, Danny.” We say, “What do you mean?”

Tell me about the first time you saw “Wicked” on stage? How old were you?

I was in the sixth grade, so I was 11 years old. It was the original Broadway company, spring 2004. I think it was May, so it was before the Tony’s, and I went with my school. We took a field trip, a day trip up to see “Wicked.” And look, I don’t generally have the clearest memories of my childhood, but I remember how it felt, and I remember the bus ride back. I think the cast album must have been out and we just sang the whole way through. And I honestly think it’s kind of crazy to say, working on the movie “Wicked” 21 years, 20 years later, to say, “This is one of the things that made me fall in love with theater and made me fall in love with music is Stephen Schwartz’s music in this and “The Prince of Egypt.” But it really changed my life in small ways and now big.

What was it like walking onto the “Wicked” set for the first time?

The first day I arrived in London, Jon – and he did this with everyone because he’s amazing – we sat and talked for two and a half hours and we talked about what it means to be a Munchkin, what the culture is in Munchkin Land. He had some ideas, but he wanted me to bring what I thought based on my research and just really respect the most acting impulses that actors have sometimes. It can be embarrassing and vulnerable to admit sometimes, but he just said, “No, I love it. Tell me more. What are you thinking?” So we talked a lot and it was really beautiful.

How was your audition?

I really wanted to do a good job, but I didn’t have anyone to read with me, and it was a self-recording. I recorded myself doing all of Glinda’s lines, and I recorded myself singing Nessa’s lines, and then I read to myself off camera. That’s a lot of Ethan on tape… It was so stupid. It was such a stupid choice. And I remember looking back at it and thinking, “I can’t believe I’m sending this in, but this is the deadline, and I think I’m doing a good enough job and whatever.” I sent it in, (but) I thought, “Well, there’s no chance.”

Did you know Cynthia and Ari personally before you were cast?

No, not really at all. I had rubbed shoulders with Cynthia, but we hadn’t really met or talked that much until then.

What was it like seeing yourself for the first time in full Boq hair and makeup?

Boq has a lot of hair that looks like mine, but to make it architectural and have that look, I had hundreds and hundreds of extensions in.

It wasn’t a wig?

No, my hair plus extensions. Yes. So I think when I live with it, I often have it up in a topknot all year, but if I didn’t then I had to really style it or it would flop down and look completely look ridiculous. It was a crazy way to live, but it was really fun.

Did you keep the extensions when you weren’t filming?

Every six weeks we had to remove them and then put them back in, and it was a three-day process. You had to remove it, let my scalp adjust, do a little haircut, then two days of putting it back in. It would be seven hours the first day, and the next day would be another three hours putting it in, plus we had to cut again. We had to cut a haircut when they were all there.

When are you going back to Broadway?

I don’t know yet. No plans. Hopefully soon. I love doing Broadway and I love the Broadway community, so we’ll see.

What is your dream musical?

I have a little pitch, which is that I think… Tevye the dairyman would probably be about 38 years old, maybe close to 40. So I think in my late 30s, which leads to 40, will play Tevye (in “Fiddler on the Roof”).

It doesn’t have to be Broadway. You could make a movie, Jon Chu’s “Fiddler on the Roof.”

Jon Chu’s “Fiddler on the Roof” – that’s a great idea.

I want 10 percent.

You know what? If we can put this thing together, 10 percent is yours.

Watch my interview with Slater at the “Wicked” premiere in Los Angeles below. Find out what he has to say about the childhood bullies who teased him for having red hair.