If there’s anyone who knows a thing or two about handily dominating both Broadway and the silver screen, it’s Cynthia Erivo and Hugh Jackman.
The two Tony-winning, Oscar-nominated actors joined the latest installment of Variety and CNN’s Actors on Actors series for an in-depth conversation around their new films, Wicked: For Good and Song Sung Blue, and the comeback of the movie musical.
“I want the world to have movie musicals, and thankfully, they’re back,” Jackman gushed in the chat published on Wednesday (Dec. 10). “Any expectation I had, you just sailed [past]. It’s the Mount Everest of movie-making, musicals. I really think it’s the hardest thing to pull off.”
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Jackman, who’s starring as one-half of Neil Diamond tribute band Lightning & Thunder in Song Sung Blue, is no stranger to the movie musical. He earned an Oscar nomination for best actor in a leading role with 2012’s Les Misérables and a Golden Globe nod for his portrayal of P.T. Barnum in 2017’s The Greatest Showman. Jackman’s movie musical dominance, which he achieved while maintaining his iconic Wolverine role, followed years of stage success, including a 1999 Laurence Olivier Award nod for his performance in Oklahoma! and a 2004 Tony win for his work in The Boy from Oz.
“This is all testament to Jon Chu. It’s very hard to pull off, because you have to convince people that it makes sense for each of these characters to burst into song,” Erivo concurred. “And it’s the moment between the speaking and the singing. It’s the silence. And every time, he would find a way for us to find that invisible thread so that there is no other choice but for these characters to start to sing.”
Erivo earned an Oscar nod for last year’s Wicked film, and she’s already earned a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Elphaba in the sequel, For Good. A Tony winner thanks to The Color Purple, Erivo also portrayed the titular role in this summer’s Hollywood Bowl staging of Jesus Christ Superstar ahead of next year’s one-woman Dracula West End run.
The Wicked: For Good soundtrack debuted in the top 10 across seven Billboard charts dated Dec. 6, including No. 1 on Soundtracks and Vinyl Albums. Four of the set’s songs debut on the Billboard Hot 100, led by Erivo and Grande’s “For Good” duet at No. 43.
Throughout their conversation, Erivo and Jackman also discussed the first time she sang “For Good” with Grande, Jackman’s decision to return to his Wolverine role and what it takes to perform at the Oscars.
Watch their full Actors on Actors conversation below.
