On the day he was asked to submit a tape of himself for the role of Bok, Slater was playing the identical twin of actor Christopher Fitzgerald at a table read for a potential musical. Fitzgerald originated the role of Bok in “Wicked” on Broadway. Slater admitted, “I didn’t tell him about it because I didn’t want to explain when I didn’t understand.” Instead, he marked the occasion by inexplicably asking Fitzgerald to take a selfie with him, which he still has.

After getting the job, Slater determined to master the delicate dance of capturing Fitzgerald’s essence in the role that was now his.

“I respect him a lot,” Slater said of Fitzgerald. “I wanted to honor the bok he created which is like a burst of energy. But I also wanted to make him my own because I could never be Chris Fitzgerald. He is very unique and very wonderful. It would be a fool’s errand to try to be like him.”

In turn, Fitzgerald, who has seen the film, gave Slater’s performance a glowing review. Slater says he plans to print and frame the text message Fitzgerald sent him later.

“As an actor, Ethan has the perfect balance of soulfulness and wit,” Fitzgerald said in an email. “His Bok is serious, humble and generous-hearted. It was such a joy and gift to see a friend take the spirit of something that had come before and transform it into something new and completely original. That’s Bok.”

“Wicked” is a prequel to the events of “The Wizard of Oz”. It stars Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba. Jonathan Bailey plays Fiyero, a prince who encounters Glinda and Elphaba at school.

This story was conceived by Gregory McGuire for the novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West”.

Slater says that filming the big-budget film, directed by Jon M. Chu, felt very small indeed. At its core, the cast is a group of theater kids who love to perform.

Slater said, “I keep quoting Johnny Bailey who said when we were shooting, ‘It just feels like a student film until suddenly it does.’

Erivo, Grande, Bailey and Slater all come from musical theater backgrounds. In 2018, he was nominated for a Tony Award for his lead performance in “SpongeBob SquarePants” on Broadway. He was also in the revival of “Spamalot” in 2023.

“We all cared a lot. We cared in the same way that theater kids care about this show and wanted to protect it and want the opportunity to do that. It was really, really fun and family-oriented,” Slater said.

Because the experience was so magical, Slater said the actors find themselves reminiscing even when they’re not promoting it.

He said, “Going to dinner last night, we were all still talking about ‘Wicked,’ and it’s like another theater kid, you know, hyper-fixating on this thing that We are very much in love.”

The actors sang live on set, which Slater said led to better performances.

“You’re using your voice the same way from scene to song, from scene to scene. And there are no breaks at all. You are not thinking about singing. You’re not thinking about dubbing later. You’re just playing it,” he said.

“Wicked,” which premieres Nov. 22, will be released in two parts. The second film is scheduled to release in November 2025.

Slater admits that scrapping the film was a “controversial decision”.

“I’m sympathetic to it, but when you watch this movie, I think it’s really a complete movie with a beginning, middle and end. You’ll know these characters and love these characters. I think The first thing you want me to do is watch the movie a second time and I’m looking forward to the second time.”

On screen, Bok has an unrequited crush on Glinda. Off screen, Slater and Grande are a couple in real life.

“Her fans will be amazed,” he said. “Anyone who is an Ariana fan knows how talented she is. They know that she, you know, has one of the best voices of our generation – or ever – and can do anything with it. I think his acting is just so above and beyond. This is unbelievable. His comedy is ridiculous.”

Slater also stars in the film “Lost on a Mountain in Maine,” which is in theaters now. And he is developing “a very beautiful play about humanity”, where he will star as the French mime Marcel Marceau.

“The thing in theater is that you can’t really celebrate until opening night and then you really shouldn’t celebrate until it closes. But we’re really excited about its future and hopefully have more news soon.”

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