Amanda Seyfried has revealed that she auditioned for the forthcoming film adaptation of Wicked, but lost the role to Ariana Grande.

It was announced in November 2021 that Grande had been cast as Glinda, the Good Witch, in the movie adaptation of the beloved musical, opposite Cynthia Erivo who will play Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.

In a new interview with Backstage, Seyfriend admitted that while filming her latest miniseries The Dropout – which earned her an Emmy nomination – she was auditioning for Wicked as well.

“I have dreams that I’m still auditioning for Wicked,” the Emmy-nominated actor said.

“Last summer, while I was playing Elizabeth [Holmes on The Dropout], on the weekends I was auditioning in person to play Glinda in the movie version of Wicked,” she explained.

“Because I wanted it that much that I was like, ‘You know what? Yeah, I have to play the last scene of The Dropout on Tuesday. I’ll give my Sunday to you.’ I literally bent over backwards while playing the hardest role of my life.”

Despite losing the role, which would eventually go to Grande, Seyfried found that the experience “taught me how far I’ve come as a singer, which I really wanted to prove”.

Seyfried played the role of Cosette in the 2012 movie adaptation of Les Miserables.

“Because ever since Les Mis, I was like, I need to be better. I need to do better. So whatever comes next in terms of musicals, I’m finally prepared.”

In April, Wicked director Jon M Chu upset fans when he announced that the first part will premiere on 25 December 2024, with the second half scheduled to debut a year later on 25 December 2025.