“I left that room and I was like, ‘I’m never going to work.’ That is the worst thing,” Slater said.

Wicked star Ethan Slater reveals his worst audition where he was ‘20 years too young’ for the role

"I left that room and I was like, 'I'm never going to work.' That is the worst thing," Slater said.

By Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum

Sydney Bucksbaum is a staff writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2019 and is a published author. Her work has previously appeared in *TV Guide Magazine*, E! News/E! Online, *The Hollywood Reporter*, Mashable, Bustle, IGN, DCComics.com, Inverse, *The Daily Northwestern*, and more.

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December 30, 2025 6:02 p.m. ET

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Ethan Slater. Credit:

Samir Hussein/WireImage

Ethan Slater has something to confess-a about his worst audition story.

The *Wicked: For Good* star recently revealed that, early on in his career, he auditioned for a role that he was "20 years too young" to play. Unfortunately, he didn't know that at the time.

Ethan Slater in 'Wicked: For Good'.

Universal Pictures

"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?'" Slater said at an event at his alma mater, Vassar College, on Dec. 10, where he received the Young Alum Achievement Award.

While the comment hurt at the time, especially since he was so young and green in his career, Slater later found out that it was because he was too young to play the role.

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"I know exactly who they cast, and I know everybody else they auditioned," he said. "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."

Slater added that he now has a much different perspective on that audition faux pas.

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"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," Slater said. "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 broke out with his Broadway debut in 2017 starring in *The SpongeBob Musical*, which earned him a Tony nomination. He went on to star in the two *Wicked* films as munchkin-turned-Tin Man, Boq, with sequel* Wicked: For Good* now available to stream online.

He has also appeared on multiple TV shows including *Elsbeth*, *Gen V,* and *The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.*

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