Jeff Goldblum says that an important storyline in the Wicked films has changed him for good.
In a new interview with the British show This Morning, the 73-year-old actor, who plays the Wonderful Wizard of Oz in both Wicked and the upcoming Wicked: For Good, admitted he stopped eating meat in light of his character’s storyline.
“It's changed me,” he said near the four-minute mark in the video linked above. “After doing this movie we talked about the animal cruelty. I stopped eating meat and poultry. So this Christmas and Thanksgiving, I may be having another something else.”
Mild spoilers ahead:
In the first Wicked film, Elphaba, played by Cynthia Erivo, and Glinda, played by Ariana Grande, travel from Shiz University to the Emerald City after The Wizard, having learned of Elphaba's supernatural powers from Madame Morrible (Michelle Yeoh), invites her to meet him.
Elphaba seeks his help to rescue animals in Shiz who have lost their ability to speak, including Dr. Dillamond (Peter Dinklage), a professor at the university. She and Glinda then discover that not only does The Wizard has no interest in this, he is in fact riling up hatred against animals throughout Oz in order to consolidate his own power.
Reflecting on the story's message, Goldblum said, "We need the world to work for everybody on earth and every creature too."
Wicked, adapted from the hit 2003 Broadway musical that originally starred Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, serves as a prequel to the events of The Wizard of Oz and tells the supposedly untold story of the witches of Oz before Dorothy dropped in. The long-running blockbuster musical celebrated its 22th anniversary on Broadway last month.
“I was thrilled to do it, but yes, it did occur to me: people are going to have big expectations,” Goldblum said of taking on the iconic Wizard role. “They love it and great people have done it … Many people could have done this part. How can I bring what I can to help out this whole thing? And I hope people like it. And it seems to have worked out.
“There was maybe something in me that was okay for this version of it. And I just loved giving it a try,” he added.
Wicked: For Good hits theaters on November 21.