Wicked_ Ethan Slater Gushes Over 'Incredible' GF Ariana Grande (Exclusive)
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00There's this adorable moment of you helping Ariana with her train in Australia.
00:03What's it like to share this experience together?
00:05I am so proud of Ariana. She's incredible in this movie.
00:09She and Cynthia are mind-blowing in this movie.
00:11And I think I'm not alone in the cast of feeling just kind of privileged
00:14to be able to witness that chemistry on set.
00:17And now to be able to share in the celebration of it, I'm just grateful.
00:22Yeah.
00:22Don't be afraid.
00:24It's the wizard who should be afraid of me.
00:26The wizard that there is or was.
00:29Congratulations. The movie is incredible.
00:32What's it like to be here at this premiere?
00:34Also seeing so many hardcore Wicked fans around here.
00:37It's completely surreal.
00:38I mean, I've been a hardcore Wicked fan for 20 years.
00:41So to be part of this movie is, I don't know, it's a crazy dream come true.
00:46It's really bizarre.
00:46And then to have everybody cheering, like, this is how I feel about it.
00:49So it's cool to see other people feel this way.
00:51The participation, everyone's in their pink and their green.
00:53Everyone's on their game right now.
00:56What message do you have for those fans?
00:57The fact that they have to wait for a part two.
01:00You know what I'll say?
01:01My experience watching this movie is that after watching the first one,
01:06you're going to be excited for part two,
01:08but really you're going to want to watch the first one again.
01:10It's such a full story.
01:11So much happens.
01:12And you get to love these characters, Glinda and Elphaba.
01:16It's just amazing.
01:17You're going to love it.
01:18I saw it and the way I see it is that we get more Wicked.
01:21That's what it is.
01:22It's going to be double the fun.
01:23That's right.
01:23And there's so much in there.
01:26There's so much already that was in there in the stage play.
01:28And now we get to take our time and get to know these characters.
01:30And it moves fast.
01:31So you're going to want to see it again and again.
01:33Did you get a chance to see the stage play with Adina and Kristen?
01:36I did.
01:37You did?
01:37I did.
01:38When I was in sixth grade, my class took a trip up to New York.
01:41And we saw it in the spring of 2004 before the Tonys.
01:44So I got to see the original cast.
01:46It's crazy because there's loyal Wicked fans.
01:48There's loyal SpongeBob fans.
01:50How does it feel to be able to, I don't know,
01:52claim those characters, Bach and SpongeBob,
01:54until you're Kennedy Center Honors?
01:57The SpongeBob at Kennedy Center Honors?
01:59No, you, Ethan Slater.
02:01Oh, sure.
02:01People still really love you as SpongeBob.
02:03And now they're going to love you as Bach.
02:04That's got to feel like an embarrassment of riches.
02:06It really is.
02:07I'm so grateful just to be able to, look,
02:09they're both iconic characters who were there before me.
02:12And so I just feel really honored to be able to step in
02:14and bring some of myself to it.
02:17And somebody who is here, just a fan here for the premiere,
02:21was telling me that they're doing SpongeBob Jr.
02:24at their acting center.
02:26And that's the coolest thing ever.
02:27It feels like, you know, I don't know, my kid out in the world.
02:32And they're taking it on.
02:34And it means so much to me.
02:34But it means so much to everyone else.
02:36And so we get to share that.
02:37And I feel that way about Bach, too.