Watch: Michelle Yeoh says Ariana Grande helped persuade her to join 'Wicked'
Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Michelle Yeoh says Ariana Grande helped persuade her to join the Wicked movie.
The 61-year-old actress recalled on Wednesday's episode of The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon how Grande and Cynthia Erivo helped convince her to star in the upcoming adaptation.
Yeoh said Wicked director John M. Chu, with whom she previously collaborated on Crazy Rich Asians, first approached her about the film.
"I read the script. I call him, 'Jon, you realize she sings, right?' And he goes, 'Uh huh,'" Yeoh recalled. "I don't sing! He's like, 'Eh, don't worry.'"
"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," she said.
According to Yeoh, Erivo told her that it was "imperative" that she come and and join the cast.
"Imperative was the royal word," Yeoh said before adding, "Cynthia and Ariana are like angel -- When you walk on and you hear them sing, it's like you've gone to heaven."
Wicked is a musical fantasy drama based on the Gregory Maguire novel and Broadway musical of the same name.
Yeoh said on The Tonight Show that she has wrapped filming for her role as Madame Morrible.
"I just wrapped last week in London," she shared.
Wicked: Part One opens in theaters Nov. 27, with Part Two to be released in November 2025.
Yeoh also stars in the new series Brothers Sun, which premiered on Netflix this month.
