-Oh, my gosh. We love it when you come to the show! -I love being at the show.
-I love you so much. I missed you. -I miss you.
Congratulations on this. Again -- I told you already. But two words.
Legend-ary. -Thank you. -Unbelievable.
You are fantastic. -Thank you. -You've got to be so proud about this.
But I want to first congratulate you on "Saturday Night Live. " You were great hosting on. .
. -Thank you. [ Cheers and applause ] You can do it all.
-Thank you. Thank you. -You were on "Saturday Night Live.
" You can do it all. You did a sketch called "Domingo" where you sang. Yes.
Everyone saw the sketch. It's the most viral thing. Everyone saw it, and it was so funny.
You're singing an off-key version of "Espresso. " And I was watching. I think I loved it the most because you singing off-key is very rare.
-Oh. -Is it hard to sing off-key? -You know, it was really fun.
I really enjoyed. -Yes, but can you normally -- I mean, you're always singing on key. -Oh, that's very generous.
Thank you. -Yeah. -It was really fun.
It was a bit that we found, like, in the moment. I pitched it to the writers Sudi and Jimmy. I said, "Would it be funnier if it got progressively worse as it went on?
" -Gosh. It was so good. I was like, "Oh, my gosh.
" I wanted more. But then I saw a character that I think we'll never forget. -Oh.
-Antonio. -Oh, yes. -Now.
. . [ Cheers and applause ] Can we zoom in?
Just zoom -- It's just -- [ Cheers and applause ] I mean -- I mean, it's -- I don't know why, but this is my favorite thing I've ever seen. I just think you're so -- It's so kind of cute and -- But also the funniest thing -- you were in character. -Thank you so much.
And now I heard that people are coming up to you at "Wicked" premieres wanting you to sign this photo. -Yeah, with -- with posters of Antonio. They've been coming to the premieres.
Which is insane. But, I mean, like, I really -- I understand it, I appreciate it. He's still with me.
You know? -He is. -I'm still unpacking the emotional weight of Antonio with my therapist.
-With your therapist. Yeah. You nailed it.
-Thank you. Thank you. -That's the thing about you, is that I just -- You can do everything.
You can sing. You can act. But you also have a great sense of humor, and you get it.
And you know how to do comedy. -Coming from you, thank you. -No.
Stop. I heard that you had a lot to do with getting Bowen Yang cast in "Wicked. " [ Cheers and applause ] We love -- He's great.
He has a full dance number. He's amazing. -He's absolutely brilliant in this film.
He and Bronwyn James, who play Pfannee and Shenshen, they're unbelievable together. -I was like, "Bowen, are you really dancing? " He goes, "Are you kidding me?
I studied so hard for that. " -Yeah. -He was great!
-I mean, he's phenomenal. He killed it. -Yeah.
-Yes. [ Cheers and applause ] -We love Bowen Yang. -Yeah.
-How did you -- How did you get Bowen to do the film? -Well, I didn't -- I don't know that I actually had anything to do with it. Um, because, you know, Marc Platt and Jon M.
Chu and Universal Studios were really trying to make it happen. I don't know why I thought that I had any power here. I was like, "I'll call Lorne.
" -That's everyone's answer. "I'll call Lorne. " Yeah.
So you called Lorne Michaels? -Yes, I did, and I don't know why I did because -- -Because your family. He loves you.
-No, but it was the scariest moment of my life. You know what I mean? I was realizing in real time that, like, "Oh, I have nothing to say and I have no reason why he would listen to me.
" -What did he say? What did he say? -Well, I was just like, um, "Oh, hi, Lorne.
How are you? " And he was like -- [as Lorne] "Hello, Ariana. What do you want?
" [ Laughter ] [ Cymbal crash ] Thank you very much. -[as Lorne] "What do you want? I'm very busy.
" -No, but, um, I basically was just like -- In that moment, I realized I don't have what it takes to get this to happen. I was like, "Oh, no! " -But you got it to happen.
-No, but I did beg. I begged. And he worked it out, and he flew back and forth between "SNL" and filming "Wicked" to be a part of it, and he's unbelievable.
And he just put himself through it to get it done. -When you first heard. .
. [ Cheers and applause ] -He's hardcore. -Let's talk about "Wicked," because I can't imagine anyone else as Glinda.
You really nailed it. I can't. .
. [ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you. -You crushed it.
Uh, when you first heard that "Wicked" was being made into a movie, uh, immediately, did you start preparing for maybe a potential audition? Do you go like, "I think I should do this"? -Yes.
I, um -- As soon as I caught whispers of an audition maybe or that a movie was going to happen at all, I started to kind of mentally prepare myself and my team. I just told them, you know, if this is really happening and if they are going to start seeing people for it, I just want to be so prepared. I want to take all of the acting lessons, all of the singing lessons.
I want to train my voice to become coloratura soprano. Like, legit opera. I have to honor this the way that it requires.
[ Cheers and applause ] And -- -Yeah. You always know -- You put the work in. You're, uh -- I don't want to say a perfectionist, but every time you've been on our show, you put the time in, and you practice, you rehearse, you nail it.
I mean, this is a big thing. And I remember how serious -- You were like, "Jimmy, I'm diving into this deep. I'm going for it.
" -Well, we were -- we were making our video for the song that's on your number-one comedy album. -Thank you so much. Oh, my gosh.
That's right. -When I was going through the audition process. And I just remember talking to you about it and you being so, so, so supportive, as you always are, here and as a friend behind the scenes.
And, um -- And, yeah, I wanted to -- -You nailed it. What was the audition process like? You're going in -- Because it wasn't just offered.
-No. My God. Thank God.
I mean, it's "Wicked. " It has to be earned. It's like -- -Yes!
-It's the most important thing. -That's right. -You know, I tried to -- I tried to prepare myself mentally going into it, knowing that, "Listen.
This is going to end up where it's meant to end up. And as a fan of it, I have to trust that and know that it's going to go where it's supposed to go. But in the meantime, I'm going to do every damn thing I can to prepare myself for this and to get the chance.
" And, um, I auditioned August 13, 2021. That was my first audition. -Wow.
-And then. . .
And then I got called back and then I got called back again. And then I did screen tests with two different actresses. And it was like a 3.
5-hour session that day. -So much goes into -- I mean, just even -- Because you're really singing. I mean, you're going for it.
I mean, you and Cynthia Erivo. -Yeah. Cynthia Erivo, everyone.
-Oh, great. Great chemistry. Great partner.
Great chemistry. When did you find out Cynthia was going to play Elphaba? -I found out -- So, when they called me to tell me that I had the part, I had one heart attack.
That was the first one. -Yeah. -And then they told me that I was going to be playing opposite Cynthia Erivo, and that was the second heart attack.
And then I died and I'm dead. And I'm dead here. And I'm still dead.
-Perfect. You're still -- You're still dead. -No.
Yeah. -Congratulations. Yeah.
-I mean, I've just been such a fan of hers for such a long time. She's so extraordinary. -Powerhouse.
-And, um, getting to play opposite her and also just become true sisters with her has been such a beautiful experience. And I'm so grateful that it was us. I can't.
. . -You really worked -- It's just -- It's -- You know, I told you I was watching the movie.
I was just in awe. Man, you took it to the next level. Only -- Only you can do this because I'm like -- You're funny.
You're gorgeous. You can act. You can sing.
It's everything. And it's so great. I love the whole thing.
Yeah. By the way, even that made me laugh. I got those jokes.
Dude, you got all the -- You nailed all the jokes. But you brought us a cool video. -Oh, yes!
-A behind-the-scenes video that you haven't shown anyone yet. -No. -This is you.
. . [ Cheers and applause ] I know!
That's why she's the best! Alright. What are we going to see?
What are we going to see here? This is you on the chandelier? -Yeah, so this is the first time ever that I rehearsed the chandelier bit where I'm swinging around on the ceiling.
And what happened was, we have an amazing stunts team, and one of our stunt coordinators was standing in the room just to make sure that I didn't break all of my limbs. And, um, he was standing in the corner, um, really stoically and bravely, and my foot just kind of almost breaks his face. -Oh, my God!
Alright. Good. -He just kind of, like, toughs it out.
And then you get to see the very honest, genuine reaction of Cynthia Erivo the first time that I did the stunt. And all of it I think feels worth it. Please let me know.
-Yeah, let's -- This is a slow-mo video. Take a look at this. Here you are right here.
Alright. You're going up. -First rehearsal.
-You're grabbing the thing. -♪ Follow my lead ♪ [ Cheers and applause ] I still have brown hair. This was my last day brunette.
Watch the foot. -Look at his face. He's like, "Ugh-eeeee!
" Ninja! Ohh! Ninja!
-And now -- And now. . .
Please look at Cynthia Erivo. Please. -Cynthia's like, "What in the world am I watching?
This is exactly -- This is exactly what I'm getting into right here. This is gonna be a fun movie. " You are the best.
More with Ariana Grande when we come back, everybody! Come on back!
