Ariana Grande filmed Wicked movies while ‘upset in her real life’

Ariane Grande filmed the Wicked movies while struggling with real life obstacles.

In the midst of a very public divorce and a demanding double film shoot, the actress and singer channelled her real-life heartbreak into the performance of her career – one that’s now generating serious Oscar buzz.

Grande filmed both Wicked and its sequel Wicked: For Good back-to-back, taking on the role of Glinda the Good Witch of the North in Jon M. Chu’s ambitious adaptation of the beloved Broadway musical.

And according to Chu, it was precisely the turbulence of Grande’s off-screen life that gave her on-screen performance its unexpected depth.

‘I got to watch her on days be upset in her real life and have to open up even more to deliver for us,’ Chu told The New York Times in a new profile on the star.

‘She was not hiding anything from this camera.’

It’s a rare statement in an industry that often prizes polish over vulnerability.

Chu, whose past work includes Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights, said the ‘tumult’ of Grande’s personal life gave him confidence that she could handle the film’s more emotionally fraught sequences.

During filming, Ariana went through a very public divorce with ex-husband Dalton Gomez.

Sources later claimed they had problems before she left to film for Wicked in December 2022, and attempted to reconcile.

Alas, despite Dalton visiting his partner on set in London to work things out, as per TMZ, they were unable to salvage their marriage of two years.

Ariana and Dalton made their separation official in court in October 2023, after both initially filed in September, meaning she was squarely in the middle of all the fallout when playing Glinda.

Also, while filming, Ariana struck up a romance with Wicked co-star Ethan Slater, a relationship that was much maligned by media and fans.

Slater, 32, filed for divorce in June 2023 after five years of marriage with wife Lilly Jay, with whom he shares a two-year-old son.

Both Grande and Slater claim they were single when they started dating, but Slater’s ex-wife seemed to refute these claims when she slammed the Boy Is Mine hitmaker as ‘not a girl’s girl’ and making her family ‘collateral damage.’

Now, according to Chu, it’s clear that all of this controversy contributed to Ariana’s emotional performance.

We’ll soon get to see even more of the character in the film sequel Wicked: For Good, which is set to hit cinemas on 21 November.

Wicked: For Good will tell the final part of the prequel story – with appearances from beloved characters Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tinman, and Cowardly Lion (played by Colman Domingo).

The sequel also stars Jonathan Bailey as Prince Fiyero, Michelle Yeoh as Madame Morrible, Ethan Slater as Boq, and Colman Domingo as the Cowardly Lion.

Chu previously gave more details about the new film, saying: ‘It’s all about the girls, as they say. As we said to each other over and over, ‘It’s about the girls, stupid.’

‘These girls, if you thought they were great in movie one, in movie two, they actually get to shatter the dream. They actually get to rebuild these characters.

‘They actually get to give them a wickedness and a goodness, and then have to forgive each other and be rebirthed into a new form. To me, this is the reason we made Wicked.

‘Of course, there’s bigger action, bigger drama. The stakes are way higher. But at the end of the day, it’s this beautiful story of this friendship, and the things that hold us together as a world, and I think we need that more than ever.’

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.