Ariana Grande is finally gearing up for the long-awaited release of Wicked, the first in a two-part installment of Jon M. Chu's adaptation of the beloved stage musical.
The 31-year-old former Nickelodeon star will finally be seen in the role of Galinda, or Glinda the Good Witch, come November 22, when the movie is out in theaters.
Starring alongside Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, the pair have stuck together through thick and thin, including the film's long and strenuous filming process in 2022, the insane buzz, and now the promotional cycle. Watch the official trailer for Wicked below...
As it turns out, apart from becoming best friends on set, the pair also shared another thing in common — coming down with the same affliction just days before filming big scenes.
In a new interview with the New York Times, Ariana and Cynthia, 37, sat down to talk about the friendship that blossomed between the pair through the intense Wicked filming schedule, one that included first Ariana, and then Cynthia, coming down with a case of Covid.
Ariana shared that filming basically became their entire lives. "There were not many moments at all when she wasn't green and my tattoos weren't covered and we weren't in these corsets and costumes," she explained.
© Getty ImagesCynthia even added: "I got told off by my best friend. We were shooting in London and he was like, 'I have not seen you. You have been here for six months!' It really was 'head down, let's do this only.'"
She continued: "And if there was time, we were not well. There was one time when I got Covid, there was another time when she got Covid."
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Ariana then expanded upon what happened, saying they both happened to test positive not long before they were due to shoot some of the movie's biggest musical scenes, which involved live singing, "Popular" for Ariana and "Defying Gravity" for Cynthia.
© Getty Images"We only got sick once each, but both were before some of the most important works of the whole movie — mine was the week before 'Popular'," the "Supernatural" singer recalled.
"I came to set with a mask on my final days of recovery to learn the hallway finale, and no one liked this joke but I loved it so I'll tell it: We were in the dorm room together and I sang in her ear, 'Positive, you're going to be positive!'"
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She quickly then added: "But I wasn't positive anymore, don't worry! I took the test."
© Getty ImagesHer Oscar-nominated co-star remembered her own experience, saying that it worked as a wake-up call of sorts for her to take a step back and prioritize her own well-being.
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"I got Covid the week before I shot 'Defying Gravity'," she shared. "It was literally like, 'Sit down, Cynthia, not yet.'" The pair even commented on the actors' strike last year serving as a "break" of sorts from filming.
© Getty Images"It was funny though because no matter how much time passed, the second we got back into those clothes, the characters were right there with us," Ariana shared. "I don't think they ever left us, really. Even though we were technically resting, we weren't ready to fully release because we knew how much was still ahead."
