Yahoo News Watch Harvey Guillén sing Wicked from memory — in Japanese
Harvey Guillén is a sentimental man — or at least he sings like one.
During his EW 2023 Pride issue cover story interview, the What We Do in the Shadows and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish star shared one of his first jobs, understudying for the Wizard in a production of Wicked at Universal Studios Japan.
Though his college — the American Musical and Dramatic Academy — forbid auditioning for professional productions while still a student, Guillén says he decided to "secretly audition" for a year-long stint at the Japanese theme park.
"I was like, 'What are the odds I'll get it?'" Guillén recalls in the video above. But the actor did book the gig, leaving school and moving halfway around the world. He was first cast as a 13-year-old in Sesame Street Live before they asked him to understudy the John Belushi character in a Blues Brothers show and then the Wizard in Wicked.
"I was like, 'Isn't the wizard like 68?!'" he says, laughing. "I was like, 'So [I'm playing] 13, 35... I'm just going to age in one year — just completely go through a lifespan of a human being. Yeah, that's called range."
Bronson Farr for EW Harvey Guillén for EW's 2023 Pride cover
It wasn't until Guillén moved to Japan that he realized he was tasked with learning his roles in Japanese. But now "I can't even sing it in English anymore," he says of Wicked. "If I hear 'Sentimental Man' go on, my brain just goes and I have to sing it [in Japanese]."
Though he never had to actually go on for the Wizard, Guillén still can sing the character's entire song — which EW of course asked him to do spontaneously during our interview.
"I did not warm up," Guillén jokes after his performance. "But I was ready to go."
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