Ethan Slater Did Triple Duty for His Wicked Audition Tape, Playing Boq — as Well as Glinda and Nessarose (Exclusive)

Ethan Slater can do it all!

The actor, 32, auditioned for the role of Boq in Wicked appearing as a character in his audition tape, as well as Glinda (Ariana Grande) and Nessarose (Marissa Bode).

“I did two scenes and sang Boq’s songs, ‘The Ozdust Ballroom’ and ‘March of the Witch Hunters,’ which is the second movie,” Slater says in a new PEOPLE special. Wicked edition.

“But,” he continues, “I should say that I had no one to read with at the time, so the tape I sent shows me playing Glinda and Nessa off-camera, and then me reading with a recording of myself. ”

Calling the decision to play three characters at once in her audition tape “so brave”, Slater adds: “I can’t believe I got away with it. But I knew I wanted to take my time with it… and I could I haven’t found someone to spend that time with me, so I did it with myself.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Ariana Grande (left); Marissa Bode; Ethan Slater.

Marleen Moise/WireImage; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; John Nacion/Getty

Jonathan Bailey trained his big Wicked Number during work on 2 other large projects (exclusive)

Wicked marks Slater’s first major film. A long time ago, he auditioned for Boq on Broadway, although he didn’t get the part.

However, he later got the title role Sponge Bob Skockanimusical version of the hit television series Nickelodeon, which earned him a Tony Award nomination.

The PEOPLE Puzzler has arrived! How fast can you solve it? Play now!

In the upcoming film adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, Grande, 31, plays Glinda, opposite Cynthia Erivo, who portrays Elphaba. (The original Broadway cast of the musical featured Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel in the roles.)

Others attached to the project, directed by Jon M. Chu, include Jonathan Bailey as Prince Fiyer Tigelaar, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Peter Dinklage as Dr. Dillamond, Bowen Yang as Pfannee and Bronwyn James as ShenShen .

Ethan Slater (left) and Ariana Grande (right).

Media-Mode/SplashNews

Ariana Grande Is ‘So Happy’ People ‘Meet’ Boyfriend Ethan Slater: ‘He’s Such An Amazing Person’

According to Slater, working with such a large ensemble of talented actors was a lifetime experience like no other.

“What felt special was how much everyone cared about their characters,” he tells PEOPLE. “When you’re working on something that’s been in the world for 20 years and these are characters that fans love and care about, it’s really important that the actors who play them in a movie of this magnitude care as much as anyone else. And they all are.”

“Watching Cynthia navigate her love for Elphaba, watching Ariana navigate her love for Glinda and how they managed to permeate their performances was a revelation, it was so beautiful,” he continues.

Speaking specifically about Grande, who she’s currently dating, Slater says, “One of the things that’s been really fun to see is her mastery of comedy, she’s so witty and so physical, and it never seems like a joke on top of the character it always seems as if it came directly from Glinda is Glinda. Even in those incredibly funny physical moments.”

Buy PEOPLE Wicked special edition here. Wicked will be released in two parts, with the first one hitting theaters on Friday, November 22.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education