Dove Cameron reflects on losing dream role as Wicked’s Glinda to Ariana Grande
Dove Cameron lost out on Wicked’s Glinda to Ariana Grande, but isn’t bitter about it. (Getty)
Singer and star of The Descendants Dove Cameron lost out on her dream role of Glinda in Wicked to pop icon Ariana Grande – but she’s OK with it.
After years of anticipation, director Jon M Chu’s movie adaption of the musical theatre hit will star Grande as Glinda the Good Witch, Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero.
The film adaptation follows Wicked‘s origin story of The Wizard of Oz’ infamous villain and is told from her perspective.
Wicked has been home to some of the biggest songs in musical theatre history such as “Defying Gravity”, making it the holy grail of film roles for musicians everywhere.
Dove Cameron, 27, was one of many hoping to land the coveted role of preppy popular girl Glinda, as she told TheWrap.
“I definitely went out for it,” she admitted, “I know that for everybody who did go out for it, it was a very long process. It was one of the longer processes I’ve been a part of.”
Following in the footsteps of Victorious actor turned grammy-award winning artist Grande, Cameron herself is an ex-Nickoledon star who has since broken into the music industry.
Cameron went on to win the AMA for Best New Artist and plans to drop her first studio album, Celestial Body, later this year. Grande and Cameron also starred opposite each other in 2016’s Hairspray, Live.
Cameron has previously spoken about her dream of playing Glinda, telling ET in 2019: “It’s like the role of a lifetime. I’ve been dreaming of it since I was, like, seven. I mean, I should be so lucky to be considered.”
Despite having to put the dream on for now, she doesn’t harbour any resentment, telling TheWrap: “I’m so excited for Ariana.
“She’s a genuinely dear friend of mine. We met when we were super young. I think she’s gonna kill it. I think the whole cast is phenomenal head to toe. So, like, as a fan, I’m really, really excited to see it.”
In the meantime, Cameron is starring in the Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon! alongside Broadway’s original Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth.
In season two of Schmigadoon!, Cameron plays the Sally Bowles-esque cabaret star Jenny Banks who leads a deeply troubled life off-stage. Speaking to Collider about her connection with the character’s own trauma, Cameron revealed that she felt “a lot of my younger years were spent in Jenny’s shoes”.
“And having all of that humanness behind the lens of such a camp, over-the-top caricature of the character was really fun. I had the time of my life,” she said.
Dove Cameron will, of course, be seated for Wicked: Part One which will hit cinemas on 27 November, 2024.
As Chu gives eager fans their first glimpse of Grande as Glinda, excitement is only ramping up for what is sure to be the musical screen sensation of next year.
