Michelle Yeoh reveals that her 'Wicked' co-stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo convinced her to join the cast of the movie musical. Photo: Reuters
Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh looks regal in the new photos from the highly anticipated movie musical Wicked.
In the movie, directed by Jon M. Chu, Yeoh plays Madame Morrible, the corrupt headmistress of Shiz University where Ariana Grande's Glinda and Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba meet.
Vanity Fair magazine has the first look of the film, publishing several photos featuring actors such as the above-mentioned as well as Bowen Yang, Jeff Goldblum, Jonathan Bailey and Ethan Slater.
Sporting a white wig and a blue dress, Yeoh is featured in several photos: one looking resplendent in, what looks like Madame Morrible's office; with the cast of the movie; and a close up with Goldblum's Oz. (See photos here)
In a previous interview, Yeoh revealed that she had doubts about her ability to star in the musical as her character has singing parts.
"I read the script. I call (Chu), 'Jon, you realise (my character) sings, right? And he goes, 'Uh huh'.
"I don't sing! He's like, 'Eh, don't worry'," Yeoh, 61, said.
But Yeoh still needed a bit of persuading, so Chu brought in the big guns – the Crazy Rich Asians director recruited his Wicked leads Grande and Erivo to convince the Oscar winner.
"Then, the next day, I get this video and I look at it, and it's like, 'Hi, Michelle. I just have two people here who really want to talk to you and tell you why you should be here.
"And it was Ariana and Cynthia," Yeoh recalled, adding that Grande and Erivo told her that it is "imperative" she joins the cast.
The Ipoh-born actress, who wrapped her scenes in January, was asked how she would feel about audience seeing her sing for the first time in Wicked.
She jokingly replied: “I say, ‘Good luck to you all'.”
Yeoh is slated to belt out The Wizard And I and Thank Goodness in the Wicked movies, which will be released in two parts – Nov 27, 2024 and Nov 26, 2025.
