You could say that Ethan Slater's yellow brick road to getting cast in the big screen adaptation of “Wicked” had an element of magic to it. On the day he was asked to submit a tape of himself for the role of Boq, Slater was playing the part of actor Christopher Fitzgerald's identical twin in a table read for a potential musical. Fitzgerald originated the role of Boq in “Wicked” on Broadway.
“I didn’t tell him about it ‘cause I didn’t want to explain when I didn’t get it,'” admitted Slater. Instead, he marked the occasion by asking Fitzgerald to take a selfie with him for seemingly no reason, which he still has. After getting the job, Slater was determined to master the delicate dance of keeping the essence of Fitzgerald in a role that was now his.
“I look up to him so much,” Slater said of Fitzgerald. “I wanted to honor the Boq he created who’s just, like, a burst of energy. But I also wanted to make him my own because I could never be Chris Fitzgerald.
He's too singular and too amazing. It would be a fool’s errand to try to be him.” In turn, Fitzgerald, who has seen the film, gave Slater's performance a glowing review.
Slater says he plans to print and frame a text message that Fitzgerald sent him afterward. “Ethan has this perfect balance of soulfulness and funny bones as an actor,” Fitzgerald said in an email to the AP. “His Boq is earnest, daffy, and generous of heart.
It was such a pleasure and a gift to watch a pal use the spirit of.
