Ariana Grande Says She 'Was a Different Person' Before Befriending Cynthia Erivo on “Wicked”

"She is a Capricorn, and she loves hard and honestly and right," Grande said of her costar

Cynthia Erivo has changed Ariana Grande for good.

During a two-part conversation on the Podcrushed podcast, Grande, 30, said she "was a different person" before befriending Erivo, 37, on the set of their upcoming musical film Wicked.

"I hope we learned a lot from each other, but I learned so much as a person from her," said Grande, who plays Glinda opposite Erivo's Elphaba. "And she loves hard. She is a Capricorn, and she loves hard and honestly and right."

Speaking to the nature of their respective characters, the singer said, "There's something baked into these roles where you're so different from one another that you never know how it can go when you're sharing this experience in a very big way."

"People have needs and their own creative process, and you never know — like, are we gonna be healthy? And, it was just the most symbiotic, beautiful [experience]," Grande added.

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Related: All About the Wicked Movie Starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande

Grande got emotional as she continued that she "feels so grateful to have" made the movie with Erivo and "to work with someone who is just absolutely in their own league of talent."

"There's no one like her," said Grande. "And to just feel like we somehow speak the same language and somehow we're destined to do this together, and to feel safe every single day together and hold space."

Like Elphaba and Glinda, Grande explained that she and Erivo "have similar but different processes, similar but different needs," adding that the actresses are "both opposite and the same."

"To have the love that we have and trust that we have and deep love that we have for each other ... I think it all kind of happened the way it did because of that, and because we were supposed to be in each other's lives. I really do," she added. "I love her so much."

The feeling is mutual from Erivo's side, as she said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon back in December 2023 that she and Grande formed a “special” connection while making the upcoming two-part film adaptation of the Broadway musical.

Calling Grande "the best," the Harriet actress added that “she’s got a family member for life now.”

Plus, according to Erivo, their vocal chemistry is also special. She explained, “I don’t know that we realized that our voices would fit so well together."

"Our voices are very, very different, but when we sing together, it just works," she added.

Wicked: Part One is in theaters Nov. 27.

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