Ethan Slater, known for his role in Wicked and the SpongeBob SquarePants musical, recently opened up about a challenging audition experience that left him questioning his future in the industry. He recalled the auditioning director’s remark and thought that he was “never going to work” again.
Ethan Slater talks about one of his worst auditions
In a recent interview, Ethan Slater spoke about a difficult audition he had when he was 23 (via PEOPLE). The Wicked star said, “Early on, I had an audition where I left the room—I’m going to say no specifics—but I left the room, and before the door closed, the director said, ‘Why did you even bring him in?’”
At the time, the director’s words had left the actor disheartened. In hindsight, however, he admitted that learnt that the remark was because he was “20 years too young” for the role. “I know exactly who they cast, and I know everybody else they auditioned,” he added. “But at the time, I left that room, and I was like, ‘I’m never going to work.’ That is the worst thing. I was 23 years old.”
As he gained experience in the industry over the years, the Gen V actor had the opportunity to be on the other side of the audition, which changed how he viewed the moment. He said, “Having the experience of getting to be on the other side of it, which has only happened professionally for me more recently, has been pretty great. Now I’m like, ‘Oh, first of all, inappropriate. That was on them, but also they probably didn’t even mean anything by it.’”
Slater began his career on Broadway with Claudio Quest in 2015. He later gained fame with his iconic role as SpongeBob SquarePants in the Broadway adaptation, earning a Tony Award nomination. He later won Outstanding Actor in a Musical at both the Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards.
Outside of Broadway, he has appeared in the Wicked movies as Boq and in Gen V Season 2 as Thomas Godolkin.
Originally reported by Harsha Panduranga on ComingSoon.
