‘Wicked’ Casting Director Bernard Telsey on How COVID Delayed Projects and Helped Land Their Perfect Fiyero: ‘It Was Always Jonathan F—ing Bailey’

When Universal finally greenlit “Wicked,” casting director Bernard Telsey certainly knew the musical.

He brought Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth to the iconic Broadway cast when it first opened in 2003 and has been seeking actresses to play Elphaba and Glinda on stage for years since.

When it came to casting the movie, his thought was, “I know Marc Platt, the producer, Jon M. Chu, the film’s director, and I certainly know the musical. Great, let’s go get our favorite people.” He laughs.

Telsey is up for five Artios Awards nominations and, along with his partner, Tiffany Canfield, is shortlisted for the inaugural casting Oscar for “Wicked: For Good.” With years of experience casting film, television, and theater, Telsey admits the casting process for the film “was not that easy.”

Casting the musical was different, Telsey explains: “You’re looking for two women that have the stamina to be able to sing those songs eight times a week. There are huge vocal demands in that show and the score. It’s been around for almost 24 years, so people know that material.” He adds: “You need two women who have the vocal chops, and the acting chops, and all of the other stuff that goes with the demands of those roles. But for theater, it starts with the singing.”

When it came to casting the film, it was a different ballgame. No one got offers, everyone had to come in and go through the casting process “no matter how many Tony Awards or Oscars or theater credits you had.”

Telsey spoke with Variety over Zoom to discuss the process and his thoughts on the new casting Oscar.

When the “Wicked” film was finally greenlit, how many sheets of paper did you and Tiffany have for brainstorming names?

It was daunting. The directive from Universal, and from Marc and Jon, was that these two roles are so iconic, and it’s not like most movies. You get a script, and the only people who know what’s really happening are the people involved. Everyone knows who these two women are. They know Idina and Kristen from the album, so the legacy of these two characters, the expectation was, I hate to use the word Olympian, but they were going have to be two amazing people. We don’t care if it’s a girl in college, it’s a girl from Broadway, film, TV or music.

Everybody had to come in and do the process. That’s what I love so much about this movie: there’s a process called casting. It’s a verb, it’s an action, and we used the process to find every one of the people. There were no offers. That was our job to convince agents and people, you’re going to have to come in and be a part of it because it’s a work in progress, and it’s not going to be instant.

Starting with Ariana Grande: You’re not watching or listening to the singer and superstar; she really disappears into Glinda. How did you know that when you offered her the role or when you’re seeing her audition, you’re not going to see that come through in her performance?

We didn’t know. You hoped. I saw her in “13: The Musical” and “Hairspray Live,” that we were a part of, but you don’t know, and that’s why no one was going to get an offer, no matter how many Tony Awards or Oscars or theater credits you had. She came in. Those were some of the things that Jon and all of us worked with her on, and how to work on Glinda’s vocals rather than Ariana’s vocals. And she did that. She’s got such an incredible instrument and such a wonderful craft. She went and did that work vocally, with her team and her vocal coaches. She did the homework.

We’ve talked about Jonathan Bailey’s casting as Fiyero, but is there a casting story that has yet to be told that stood out for you?

It’s Jonathan, because it was really tough for Tiffany and I to get through. Jonathan Bailey is someone that, as casting directors, Tiff and I both knew. You knew he danced, and I was always a fan. We were almost starting casting, but God bless his manager, Duncan Millership, who was smart enough to call and say, “Johnny Bailey is going to be passing through New York, you want to have a general with him. He was just so wonderful and all that stuff that we now have met, because you’ve all seen him in all the press and all the talk shows, but that quality came through. And to get to know him a little bit, it was like, “Oh, my God, he’s got all the stuff that you need for Fiyero.”

We were starting “Wicked” in two months, but he was not available. He’d just gotten “Fellow Travelers,” and “Bridgeton” was a hit. We went months seeing every actor and good actors, but we just were not able to find the right magical person for Fiyero. And of course, in the back of our minds, it was like, “It’s Jonathan fucking Bailey.” We would call Duncan every few weeks because you hope that someone’s schedule would change. And this is the only time I say it was the only positive thing about COVID, because COVID happened, and then our schedule changed.

We had already had those two women, Cynthia and Ariana. So, now the stakes were even higher for Fiyero, because it’s such a bigger part than on Broadway. So once our schedule changed, by luck, between “Fellow Travelers” and “Bridgerton”, their schedules shifted. So then he came in, and Jon Chu went crazy and met him, we set up a meeting for all of us in London, and then he auditioned, and it was magical. God bless Jonathan, because I think he was literally shooting all three things at the same time, and going from Toronto to London.

You talked about Cynthia. What was it like seeing her bring this role to life?

Oh, I get the chills. The challenge was how do we let people know that she’s not just a musical theater gal? You could assume she’s going to do the second half of the film, because she’s so strong and she’s a Joan of Arc being. But is she going to have that first half of the movie and the vulnerability and heartbreak? She came in, and she was so stripped of anything but heart, and she just stood there and sang those songs, and she was so vulnerable and allowed all of the shit that happens to Elphaba, happen. It was so moving.

For the theater kids, there are so many cameos, but is there one we’ve slept on or one you were really excited about?

Adam James, who plays Glinda’s dad. I saw him on Broadway. What was great about this one? There we are in London, and we’re going to bring all our favorite stage actors that we know for these parts, from Sharon D. Clark for the bear, to Adam James. He was great, I love that he was in not only the first part, but also in the second part, in the birthday scene. So it’s a personal favorite of mine.

Finally, the Oscars are recognizing casting. How does it feel after all these years?

The fact that the Oscars are recognizing this category there’s nothing better. It’s huge because of the visibility. The Oscars are like Mount Everest. It’s not about winning, it’s about the recognition and inclusion. It’s important to see that it’s a career, and that it’s a profession, and those people didn’t just appear in that movie. I think of the Lynn Stalmaster and Marion Dougherty movies, and think of how many Oscars or nominations they might have. It’s really exciting to know that my peers are going to be recognized this way.