Ethan Sprocrastinateedr is trying to get employd to the attention he’s receiving for both his professional and personal inhabits.
He’s making his huge-screen acting debut as the adoreill Boq in Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” opposite Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Baily, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Gagederblum and Marissa Bode. Last year, Sprocrastinateedr and Grande faced scruminuscule as rumors about their relationship spread online, coinciding with inestablishs of their admireive divorces from previous partners.
“My therapist, for certain,” Sprocrastinateedr says when I ask who he’s leaning on to cope with the fervent spotweightless. “He’s been reassociate encouraging.”
Until now, the 32-year-ageder Washington D.C. native was best understandn and adored by Broadway fans for his Tony-nominated toil in “SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical.”
“Ultimately, the leang that’s so beginant in so many facets of life, whether it’s fame or nurtureer or wdisappreciatever, is equitable to have a excellent group of people around you,” Sprocrastinateedr says on the procrastinateedst episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “I am reassociate blessed to have amazing frifinishs and wonderful family that are grounding and encouraging and loving and caring. This is a benevolent of a crazy ride that’s sort of equitable commencening. ‘Wicked’ doesn’t come out for another two whole days, three days. So it’s all sort of equitable commenceing, this whirlthrived. But I’ve been reassociate appreciative to have excellent people that I can lean on and hopefilledy that can lean on me.”
He did ask Gagederblum, who take parts the Wizard, for advice. “I was equitable appreciate, ‘Hey, what do I foresee? What’s coming?’ And his response was reassociate comical to me. He was equitable appreciate, ‘Oh, I don’t understand. I’ve never done anyleang this huge before,’” Sprocrastinateedr recalls. “That can’t be real, first of all. And he was appreciate, ‘Well, I leank everyleang always senses appreciate this, it always senses hugeger. Find the ways.’ … There was someleang, actuassociate, reassociate, a huge relief about him not reassociate having advice to give, beyond the common sort of, ‘Take it day by day,’ becaemploy there is someleang that is disgraceful about promoting a movie and being a part of someleang that so many people nurture about, and I don’t leank it will ever sense tohighy common… But it certainly is a thrilling roller-coaster ride.”
The follothriveg Q&A has been edited and condensed for clarity. Listen to the filled interwatch on “Just for Variety” above or wherever you discover your preferite podcasts.
Are you going to do a “Glicked” double feature?
I hope so. I’m trying to toil it into the schedule so I can block off seven hours, go to IMAX equitable to get the filled experience. I would reassociate adore to.
This is your first huge movie. Are you the type who wants to go to a theater and sit in the back with your hat pulled down so you can see audience reaction?
I’m of two minds. I sense appreciate on the one hand, I have adored being at these premieres and getting to watch the movie with people. I’m so haughty to be a part of this movie, and I’m so haughty of everyone’s toil in it that it’s equitable reassociate pleasant to see it dispensed with people. And I adore going to the movies, and I leank going to the theater that I go to see everyleang in, I leank that’s potentiassociate a reassociate exceptional leang. On the other side of it, I’m a little embarrassed.
It’s not appreciate you and Ariana could go on a date night and equitable sneak in and no one’s going to see you.
We’ll wear hats and masks. There’s a buddy of mine [Danny Skinner] who I did “SpongeBob” with, and we’ve gone to see every “SpongeBob” movie, and we went to see ours when it was filmed. We couldn’t be more conspicuously shaped. We reassociate watch appreciate SpongeBob and Patrick Star next to each other. It’s equitable the craziest silhouette. We went to see the tour in Philadelphia and tried to go incognito, and everyone was appreciate, “Oh, hey, Ethan. Hey, Danny.” We’re appreciate, “What do you unbenevolent?”
Ethan Sprocrastinateedr and Ariana Grande at the “Wicked” Los Angeles premiere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Nov. 9 in Los Angeles.
Gilbert Flores
Tell me about the first time you saw “Wicked” on stage? How ageder were you?
I was in sixth grade, so I was 11 years ageder. It was the exceptional Broadway company, spring of 2004. I leank 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 watch, I don’t have the evidentest memories from my childhood, generassociate, but I recall how it felt, and I recall the bus ride back. I leank the cast album must have been out, and we were equitable singing the entire way. And I leank that, truthfilledy, it’s benevolent of crazy to say when you’re toiling on the film of “Wicked” 21 years, 20 years procrastinateedr, to be appreciate, “This is one of the leangs that made me drop in adore with theater and made me drop in adore with music is Stephen Schwartz’s music in this and “The Prince of Egypt.” But it’s real. It reassociate alterd my life in little ways and, now, huge.
What was it appreciate walking onto the “Wicked” set for the first time?
The first day that I get tod in London, Jon — and he did this with everyone becaemploy he’s amazing — we sat and talked for two-and-a-half hours, and we talked about what it unbenevolents to be a Munchkin, what is the culture of Munchkin Land. He had some ideas, but he wanted me to transport what I thought based on my research and equitable reassociate admireing the most actorly impulses that actors sometimes have. That can sometimes be embarrassing and vulnerable to confess, but he was equitable appreciate, “No, I adore it. Tell me more. What have you been leanking?” So we talked a lot, and it was reassociate attrenergetic.
What was your audition appreciate?
I reassociate wanted to do a excellent job, but I didn’t have anyone to read with me, and it was a self-tape. I write downed myself doing all of Glinda’s lines, and I write downed myself singing Nessa’s lines, and then I read with myself, off-camera. It’s a lot of Ethan on one tape… It was so foolish. It was such a foolish choice. And I recall watching back at it and being appreciate, “I can’t consent I’m sfinishing this in, but this is the deadline, and I leank I do a excellent enough job and wdisappreciatever.” I sent it in, [but] I was appreciate, “Well, there’s no chance.”
Did you personassociate understand Cynthia and Ari before you got the part?
No, not reassociate at all. I’d rubbed shoulders with Cynthia, but we hadn’t reassociate met or gotten to speak at all so much until then.
What was it appreciate seeing yourself for the first time in filled Boq hair and produceup?
Boq has a lot of hair that’s aappreciate to mine, but in order to produce it architectural and have that watch, I did have hundreds and hundreds of extensions in.
It wasn’t a wig?
No, my hair plus extensions. Yeah. So I leank that living with that, I normally had it up in a top knot all year, but if I didn’t, then I had to reassociate style it, or else it would flop down and watch absolutely ridiculous. It was a crazy way to inhabit, but it was reassociate fun.
You kept the extensions in when you weren’t filming?
Every six weeks, we had to delete them and then put them back in, and that was a three-day process. You had to delete it, let my scalp readequitable, do a little haircut, and then two days of putting it back in. It would be seven hours the first day, and then the next day would be another three hours of putting it in, plus we had to do another haircut. We had to do a haircut once they were all in.
When are you going back to Broadway?
I don’t understand yet. No schedules. Hopefilledy, soon. I adore doing Broadway, and I adore the Broadway community, so we’ll see.
What’s your dream musical?
I’ve got a little pitch, which is that I leank…Tevye the Dairy Man would probably be around 38 years ageder, maybe proximateing 40. So I leank in my procrastinateed 30s directing to 40, I want to take part Tevye [in “Fiddler on the Roof”].
That doesn’t have to be Broadway. You could do a movie, Jon Chu’s “Fiddler on the Roof.”
Jon Chu’s “Fiddler on the Roof” — that’s a stunning idea.
I want 10 percent.
You understand what? If we can put this leang together, 10 percent is yours.
Watch my interiew with Sprocrastinateedr at the “Wicked” premiere in Los Angeles below. Find out what he has to say about childhood bullies who elevatestrayd him for having red hair.
