Amanda Seyfried is somewhat of a movie musical royalty, but that didn’t help her land one role that she desperately wanted. The Oscar-nominated actress revealed that she auditioned for the role of Glinda in Wicked, but ended up losing it to Ariana Grande.
Seyfried opened up about the experience of auditioning for a movie version of the beloved musical in an interview with Backstage, saying that she “literally bent over backwards while playing the hardest role of [her] life” just so she could audition for the part.
“I have dreams that I’m still auditioning for Wicked. Last summer while I was playing Elizabeth [on The Dropout], on the weekends I was auditioning in person to play Glinda in the movie version of Wicked – because I wanted it that much,” recalled Seyfried.
It wasn’t all a loss, because this experience showed her how far she came as a singer and taught her that she’s finally prepared for whatever comes next in terms of musicals. Seyfried previously proved her singing abilities in the Mamma Mia! franchise, but said that the role in Les Misérables was what inspired her to do better.
Ariana Grande was eventually cast as Glinda alongside Cynthia Erivo, but losing this role didn’t stop Seyfried’s career from thriving. She recently received her first Emmy nomination for playing Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout.
