‘Wicked’: Ethan Slater Is ‘Really Proud’ of ‘Unbelievable’ GF Ariana Grande (Exclusive)

Ethan Slater and Marissa Bode are on a press tour for their highly anticipated film “Wicked.”

“Extra’s” Terri Seymour spoke with Ethan and Marissa about bringing the Broadway hit to the big screen.

Ethan has been a fan of “Wicked” for 20 years, and said he was thrilled to be part of the movie adaptation, which stars his girlfriend Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba.

As for how it felt to be able to witness those iconic musical numbers with Ariana and Cynthia live, Ethan said, “They’re just so powerful and locked in, like, their voices are incredible and I think we all know that, but I think the thing that elevated it, at least for me, was how beautifully locked into character they are.”

Marrisa added, “Seeing them just have so much love and fun with the characters as well was really cool… just how much emotion they poured into every single lyric and every vocal… I felt really lucky to be there.”

“Those songs are hard to sing, like, crazy-hard to sing, and it doesn’t look it,” Slater noted. “The beauty of them singing it live, it was just part of them.”

Ethan raved about being able to share the experience with Ariana, saying, “It’s been really amazing to be able to see her go through this up close, and I’m just really proud of her.”

Along with calling Ariana “unbelievable,” Ethan went on, “Cynthia and Ariana together as a duo, that is… gonna be remembered forever.”

In the movie, Ethan plays Boq, which he confessed was a “lifelong dream,” ever since he auditioned for the Broadway role over 10 years ago. He said, “I didn’t get it, which was fine and probably the right choice, but I feel like since then, I’ve had it in the back of my mind that this is something that I kind of wanted to do and I wonder if I would ever get to, so when the audition for the movie came along, my first thought was, ‘Well, I really want to nail this.’ My second thought was, ‘There’s no chance in hell I get it.’”

Marissa opened up about representation and bringing authenticity to Nessarose as someone who is disabled.

The role meant the world to Marissa. She raved, “What I love in the movie script in particular is just how independent she is and how great she is and doesn’t need to depend on anybody and doesn’t want to depend on anybody and is free… just a little nod and touch on consent and boundaries with people and wheelchairs and not touching mobility devices without asking and how frustrating it can be, and so I think it’s very important to show to the world.”

Marissa said she felt it was important to help others “feel seen” with her role. 

She elaborated, “I’ve seen some of it already, like with young disabled kids getting the doll and holding the doll and seeing themselves and also nondisabled kids, too, to help normalize and know that we’re just like you, and to potentially maybe even reach out to a disabled peer and know that you can do that and you should do that, and make friends with people that may just get about the world and go about the world a little bit differently.”