Gordon Kho
THE STAR – Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh is not the only Malaysian in the highly anticipated film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, Wicked.
London-based Malaysian actor Aaron Teoh will be joining A-list stars such as Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum and Yeoh in the two-part Wicked films directed by Crazy Rich Asians’ filmmaker, Jon M Chu.
“Ummmm am I gonna get to work with these people for real?!?! Look at these talented humans! @wickedmovie,” Teoh, 33, tweeted his excitement.
Later, his wife posted a video of the actor celebrating the news the way most Malaysians can relate to.
“I am celebrating my big movie news and my big job with instant noodles cos Hollywood can never take that away from me. Asian at heart, baby!” Teoh said tongue-in-cheek while cooking.
Hollywood trade publication Variety reported that Teoh will be playing the role of Avaric in the movies.
Avaric is said to be a friend of Glinda (Grande) and a frenemy of Elphaba (Erivo).
Teoh, who worked as a vocal teacher in Malaysia for nine years, has appeared in local theatre productions such as Merrily We Roll Along (2014) and Tick Tick Boom (2015). He then moved to Britain in 2017 with his wife who was pursuing her Masters at the time.
Naturally, he was also active in the theatre scene there and started going for auditions.
In 2019, he landed the role of Prince Chulalongkorn in the travelling musical production of The King And I.
“The pool of talent is so much bigger in Britain and you have layers like casting directors and agents. Without an agent to represent you, it’s pretty difficult to get seen for auditions,” he told The Star in an interview in 2019.
“I was prepared for rejections, that’s part of the job. But I wasn’t prepared for how difficult it would be to even get an audition,” he added.
The two-part Wicked movies are prequels to The Wizard Of Oz and tell the origin stories of the Wicked Witch of the West and the Good Witch.
The movies are slated for release in December 2024 and 2025.
