Ariana Grande on Wicked and her journey to Oscar nominee - The Arts Hour, BBC World Service

Ariana, take us back to August the 13th, 2021, where you say that you had to audition for this role because you had to earn the role. Wicked. It requires so much. Galinda has so much. There's so much about it that is, there's so much beneath the surface that you need to be able to do. And this has to be earned. It really does. So I was really excited and grateful for the chance. I started transforming my voice, really, two and a half to three months before my first audition with my vocal coach, Eric Vitro. Very famous man. He's amazing. Timothee Chalamet, Bob Dylan. Yeah, I mean, he's just the best. He's the guy. And I've known him since I was 14. So this was a really special moment for us because we got to do some of our our deepest and hardest work. I naturally have a voice that sits in a high range. Don't you have four octaves, including the whistling zone? Well, I've never counted. Have you? I don't know. Did you read that somewhere? Of course I did. But I also read that you wanted to hit coloratura, soprano style singing and notes. Yeah, I wanted to kind of make sure that I sounded like an authentic soprano, coloratura, operatic singer, because, you know, the way that Glinda's track is written is very different than the higher notes that I usually sing. You know, it's quite different. And I wanted to make sure that it sounded authentic. So I started training quite early and I worked every day with my acting coach, Nancy Banks, as well. And it was just a really gratifying experience. I knew that as a fan of the source material, I wanted it to end up wherever it was supposed to be, even if it wasn't mine. But I knew that I wanted to do everything I could to earn it and that I would feel OK with it no matter what happened, as long as I knew I had done everything I could. And you insisted, didn't you, on singing live on set. So there was no pre-recorded Ariana or Cynthia. You did it live. Well, Cynthia and I were definitely excited and adamant about doing everything live. We had rehearsal tracks that we had pre-recorded so that the choreographers could use them to create the dances and our cinematographer could use them to kind of camera block everything and create their parts to something other than the original Broadway cast, because it just kind of helped everyone really feel it and feel the authenticity of our version and that connection. But we sang everything on set. And I'm so grateful that we did just because the emotional integrity of the songs and also the spontaneity of improv and comedy, it kind of the material demands it. And also, there are so many women who do this eight shows a week on Broadway and in the West End that do it live, too. And what when you were doing your rehearsal period and you were working with your acting coaches or maybe it happened when you first arrived on set, what do you remember unlocked Galinda for you? Was there a physical thing that your body did? Was there a sound that you made? Because often an actor has something that unlocks that character. Yeah, I think as soon as I got there, the thing I was I was picking up pieces of her along the way. And I think a lot of that work came from kind of looking underneath the surface and finding out what's happening inside of her. But as far as the physicality goes, as soon as I got there, I asked to please have a pair of my shoes, of Galinda's shoes, so that no matter what I was doing, I was doing in the height of Galinda's heel. It definitely helped. Paul Taswell, our incredible costume designer, is just so thoughtful and brilliant. And that really is the final piece of the puzzle that just it all kind of is the finishing touch, you know. And what sort of physical training did you have to do? Because I'm thinking of the chandelier scene, for example. Pilates. Okay. Thank you for bringing that up. Galinda has good upper body strength. She does. Thank you. Thanks to Pilates. So you did train or were you naturally already that? No, I was doing a lot of Pilates and steps on the treadmill and training every morning before the rehearsals would start. I was doing Pilates at like four in the morning and then heading to set for rehearsals. Your discipline is extraordinary. We had to really work really hard for it. And I think, you know, Cynthia as well. I mean, she was running a bunch of miles before coming to set. She's an Olympian. She's just incredible. And I think we just we knew what the task was and how big and how much bigger this is than us. And we wanted to just honour it, you know, and make sure we were our best selves for the material. And are you a natural dancer? So you're doing Pilates. Oh, God. No. Is that a no? I don't know. I don't think so. But did you dance from childhood? I did. I did. I mean, Chris Scott is just a transformative choreographer. He's really incredible. But the great news is, is that we were able to collaborate to find Galinda's version of the choreography, because certain things were very perfectly planned and very perfectly choreographed. And, you know, Chris is a genius. But some things have to be modified to be more honest for the character. So I would pitch little isms or little bits or little punchlines. It would, you know, be the choreography. And then we would slide a joke in in place of the five, six, seven, eight of whatever that count was, you know, like the basketball and not the basketball, but that ball in popular when it's supposed to spin on my finger. You know, he was he wanted to train me to be able to spin the ball on my finger. And I was like, oh, my goodness. We can try. But also, wouldn't it be so funny if I thought it was still there, but it just flies off and it bounces around and it doesn't work. And we were able to collaborate in that way and pitch jokes and modify things. I mean, if people haven't seen your work as a much younger actress, Nickelodeon work, if they haven't ever seen you do Saturday Night Live, they might be surprised by your comic timing. Oh, but is that is that something that you've always had since you were a child? Well, thank you. I I've always loved comedy. I'm such a comedy nerd. I love like I was really young when I started liking things like Best in Show, which I feel is very weird. Yes, I loved Christopher Guest as a child. And I think Jim Carrey is just my all time favorite. Didn't you have some kind of email address or something that was Jim Carrey? Yes, my first. Do you remember? Like, it was very cool to have like. I'm much older than you. What? No, it was just my screen name. It was Jim Carrey Fan 42 because he was 42 at the time. Isn't that psychotic? Isn't that really scary? No, but your commitment to comedy. I love that. I love that. It was always a big part of my life. I was interested to see that your credit as an actor on this film is Ariana Grande Butera. So you've taken the Butera. What what was the thinking behind that? So this was such a homecoming for me. It felt like I kind of got to reclaim little pieces of young Ari that maybe got lost along the way or got drowned in the noise. And, you know, theater is my first love. And it just really felt like a homecoming. It felt like I was able to grab little Ari's hand and take her with me on this journey. And that was my name. And that is my name. And it was my name the first time I saw Wicked. And I thought, what a beautiful way to kind of commemorate that experience. And it's my dad's last name. Is it Sicilian? It is. Yeah, my dad's side is Sicilian. My mom's side is Italian. And yeah, so I just thought it was a beautiful way of kind of putting a button on that experience. So what do you think it is about Wicked that has made it so enduring, not just as a Broadway show, but in terms of the fact we now have the film and it's way over 20 years. You saw it when you were a child and were moved by it. What is it? Is it the themes? Is it? I think it's the accumulation of everything. I think the themes are very timely, but also timeless. I think everyone knows what it feels like to either be like Elphaba or like Galinda or like both of them. I think both of them live, pieces of them live within all of us that we can take a look at and identify with. And it hits a really personal chord just because of the humanness that it has in it. Of course, it's funny. And of course, it's full of so much life and joy. But also, I think it really hits a chord because there are so many nuanced things about the human experience. Like, are people born wicked or do they have wickedness dressed upon them? It's like, maybe we're all just people that just experience things and feel hurt and feel love and have to learn and grow and become more good. And maybe people aren't actually wicked or maybe, you know, it's a celebration of humanness and kind of asks so many questions about our own projections onto the world. And it holds up the mirror in a really nice way, I think, and inspires people to lead with more empathy, I hope. And the superpower of individuality, that becomes something to harness in Wicked. Have you always harnessed that? Have you always had a great faith that you're an individual and that's enough, if not more than enough? Or in your early days, were you channeling other people and vibrations through you? Oh my goodness, what a magnificent question. I think, you know, it's funny because when I was younger, I never had any sort of doubts or fears or whatever. I wanted to sing. I wanted to act. I wanted to dance. And my mother, who is incredible, never made me feel like that was out of the realm of possibility. You know, I said, oh, this is what I dream to do with my life. And she said, have at it, kid. You know, she was so supportive. And I think that was really helpful. But I think through growing up and through your life changing so drastically, you know, things happen and they condition us to kind of second guess ourselves and become apologetic, I suppose, about our good parts or about anything. And I think that takes a while to overcome. So it's kind of like a full circle type journey. But I'm so lucky to have people who believe in me, like my friends and my family. And yeah, it's a very human experience. The individuality and confidence and all of that. What do you think Galinda's purpose is in the world, in the world of Wicked? And then I'm obviously going to ask you what your purpose is. Oh my gosh. I think Galinda's purpose in the world of Wicked is to hold up the mirror and to make people look inward a little bit. Am I being my best self? Am I showing up for my community in the ways that I mean to? Am I being a good enough friend? Am I being a good enough leader? You know, once I know the truth, what am I doing with that? How can I become ready to make a change that matters, to become someone who can contribute to a positive change actually? How can I become, Galinda, the actual good? I think she cares so deeply about people, the people of Oz and about Elphaba. And I think her growth is my favourite thing about her. And what's your purpose at the moment? Because I think we can all change purposes. Oh my goodness. I just want to create and make people feel good, laugh, smile, sing, cry, feel less alone in their feelings. I think I feel very fortunate to be an artist and to be able to create stuff that makes people feel seen. And I guess that I think that's it. Just be like a loving person. Figure it out. I'll figure it out. What about working with things that aren't there? Now, a green screen, I presume you can't use because of Elphaba's skin colour, but did you do any blue screen stuff? You know what? I have to say, while acknowledging our VFX team was the best in the entire world, the flying monkeys, the animals, they're brilliant. I got the chance to spend some time with them. John let me come visit and I got to meet them and see the behind the scenes of what that process is like. And it's spectacular. While I acknowledge and celebrate that, I have to say, most of this film was practical. And Nathan Crowley, our set designer, I mean, he built a... And John really brought Oz to life in a very physical, real way. I felt like I was at an amusement park. I mean, every single one of those sets was a physical set that was built and worked on for months and years. And, you know, the Shiz school was there and it was huge. I remember Bo and Yang and I went on a walk together, just on a break to just explore Shiz, our university. And we went around a corner and saw the like Jeff Goldblum head in the mountain that is like carved into the mountain. And we didn't really know about it yet. And we just discovered it. We're like, oh my God. So it's really real and full of surprises. The train was extraordinary. Yes. And I didn't realize that was real and weighs 16 tons. Very real. That's incredible. 16 tons and fast. And also the platform that it was on was so long, but it ended at a certain point. And I had to run, run, run, run, run, run, run and jump onto the train. I was like, OK, OK, OK. So that was surreal, all that running. Yes. All of that was real. And it just, you know, thank God I got on because there was nothing there. Yes. That would have been a big insurance check, I'm sure. Oh my God. You had a child actor experience. Yes. How have you become so such a fully formed person as a result of a child acting experience? Being in this industry at all, as a child, as an adult, as anything, is a balance of kind of survive and thrive. You know, there are so many beautiful things that come with being an actor and being a performer. And I remember just falling in love with my character and that being such a gift to my life. I think playing Cat Valentine was like my very first experience getting absolutely lost in a character. I just I loved it so much. And my best friend, Liz Gillies, had the same experience with Jade, her character. And there were so many beautiful things that we learned. But I think being in this industry, you need that support. Every single thing about it is quite strange and is quite alien. You know, I mean, even just the experience of acting in and of itself, you're not yourself. And it's a very strange thing. And just working like an adult as a child is, you know, an adjustment as well. Doing school in a little tiny room and having to take certain exams to graduate early so that you can work adult hours sooner. These are all choices that we made. But, you know, it definitely, I think, should be a more protected place, this industry, for kids, for adults, for anyone. I just I worry about those who don't have that support. And it's something that I hope we can be a positive part of that change together by talking about it. Ariana, tell us what we can expect from part two or tell us one tiny thing that we might expect. Oh, my goodness. I think, you know, these these women have so much in them. And there's there's a lot that happens to them. And you just get to know them at very new depths. And Galinda's arc in particular, I am very excited for people to see just because I really, I really love her. And I think you get to see many examples of strength and forgiveness and love. And again, holding up that mirror and truly becoming good. And that's what I'm most excited about is for people to see the emotional arc. There's there's a lot to come. And I'm sorry, go and so many amazing prosthetics for you. No, no, not for me. Oh, surprise. Yes, I'm kidding. I'm joking. No, but but the the prosthetics team and hair and makeup team are just extraordinary. I can't wait for you to see their work on what happens to things later. It's just extraordinary. Ariana Grande, thank you for being on the Arts Hour. And may you go from strength to strength. Oh, my God. Thank you, YouTube. But also wait, I just can't wait for you to see where everyone's characters go. I'm sorry, you got me excited about the second movie. Wait, there's so much more I want to say, but I can't say it. No, you can't say it. I love you. I'm sorry. This is a lovely time. Thank you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Everyone's like wrap it up, girl. No, that's great. You're so lovely. That was really wonderful. You are so wonderful. 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