Hannah Waddingham is clearing up chatter that she was considered for Madame Morrible in the Wicked films—confirming she never auditioned, and saying the role was already a done deal for Michelle Yeoh during the casting process.
Hannah Waddingham was having none of the Wicked speculation.
The Emmy-winning Ted Lasso actress moved quickly to shut down rumors that she’d been considered for Madame Morrible in the Wicked movies—going as far as to confirm she never even auditioned for the part. “No, I didn’t!. This is the funniest thing. We can put this to bed once and for all,” she told Variety.
The chatter made sense to some fans on paper. Waddingham’s career began in musical theatre, and she has three Olivier Award nominations for Best Actress in a Musical. So when the Wicked movies were in the casting process, she ended up on many dream-cast lists for Morrible.
But the role ultimately went to Michelle Yeoh.
Waddingham said that while she and Cynthia Erivo discussed the possibility during the casting run. Yeoh had already secured the part. The two actresses have been friends for more than a decade. after working together on a musical in London’s West End in 2015. During that Wicked casting period, they talked about the role, but Waddingham felt the outcome slip away quickly.
“I was like, ‘I think it’s gone.’ She was like, ‘Dude, I think it’s gone as well,’” Waddingham said. “I would have loved to have been seen for that, but it was a fait accompli, as they say.”
Even with Morrible off the table, Waddingham isn’t done chasing musicals on screen. She says she still wants to do a movie musical and has one in mind, but she won’t reveal it. “There is, but I’m keeping it under my hat because I want to do it. Goddamn it!” she said.
For Wicked fans watching from the sidelines, the mystery is now solved—at least as far as Waddingham is concerned. And for Ted Lasso viewers, there’s new momentum on the horizon too, with a new season coming soon and the trailer out now.
Hannah Waddingham Wicked Madame Morrible Michelle Yeoh Ted Lasso Cynthia Erivo Olivier Awards musical theatre London West End Variety