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Wicked debuted to rave reviews at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival, with John Cooper calling it an “exhilarating hybrid that continuously surprises and amuses” in the festival’s program. The thriller is a twisted tale of murder and incest with noir sensibilities and biting dark wit. The driving force behind the film is its stellar cast, who deliver complex, compelling, and sometimes shocking performances.
Directed by Michael Steinberg and produced by Frank Beddor, Wicked served as the breakthrough for Julia Stiles. The then-16-year-old is electric as Ellie Christianson, a troubled teen who despises her mother and has an unhealthy obsession with her father. Stiles won Best Actress at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic, and her performance as Ellie led to her being cast in the teen classic 10 Things I Hate About You.
William R. Moses delivers a nuanced performance as Ellie’s father-turned-lover, Ben, while Chelsea Field is an excellent counterpoint as his doomed wife, Karen. Vanessa Zima exhibits uncommon depth for a child actor as Inger. Newcomer Louise Myrback is captivating as the Christianson’s au pair, Lena. Grammy-winner Linda Hart brings humor and soul as nosy neighbor Mrs. Potter, while screen veteran Michael Parks seems to step out of the ‘40s as the Bogart-esque Detective Boland. Melrose Place baddie Patrick Muldoon is a serial scene-stealer as quirky next-door neighbor Lawson Smith.
We recently digitized a treasure trove of onset interviews in which the cast goes deep on everything from their characters’ psyches to how they think audiences will respond to the incendiary subject matter.
This is Part 1 of a three-part series that will be a fascinating look at an actor’s process, how they handled the challenging material and the fulfilling experience of working on Wicked.
*Interviews have been edited for length and clarity.
On Her Character
Ellie's very complex and very interesting. She changes throughout the movie, and it's hard to sum her up in a few sentences. She loves her father very much and focuses on him and getting his undying love. She's very powerful and in control. She knows how to get what she wants and uses that. She goes through her life with blinders on and has her own little world in Casa Del Norte.
What Attracted Her to Wicked
So many things in the script attracted me to the project. Normally, when I read scripts, I stop halfway through and can't finish them. This one, I was racing through pages. Ellie is such a great character, and artistically, it is so challenging to play her. Then, I saw Michael Steinberg’s work and thought it would be great to work with him. As far as the controversial subject matter, I was a little hesitant, but I'd written a letter to Frank and Michael about my thoughts on the script, and I mentioned I was a little uneasy about how it might be perceived. But they had such good ideas for the whole thing I really wanted the job.
The Controversial Nature of the Script
One thing that was so refreshing to me when I read the script was I really liked the way they dealt with the controversial subject matter. Absolutely nothing was shown. It was all implied. I read so many really sleazy, gross scripts involving people as young as me, but in Wicked, it's all implied, so it's almost even freakier. I really like that.
Ellie’s Arc
At the beginning of the movie, Ellie is very spunky and playful. She doesn't have any friends. She goes to school and gets picked on. She’s also very rebellious in the way she dresses, the way she acts, and the way she fights with her mother. It's a little weirder than usual. But in the middle of the movie, she's emulating her mother.
As a Suspect in Karen’s Murder
Ellie’s motive to kill Karen would be to get Karen out of the picture so Ellie can get her father's love. Also, Ellie doesn’t get along with her mother. Karen threatens to take the kids away because she and Ben are gonna get a divorce, and that scares Ellie so much because she wants to be with her father.
Ellie’s Relationship with Inger
At the beginning of the movie, there’s sibling rivalry, but Ellie defends Inger. Ellie doesn't focus on Inger that much, and sometimes they fight, but it’s not unusual. Then it starts to turn.
Handling the Tonal Changes
With certain scenes, the point is going along with the murder mystery aspect but with others, it’s going along with the comedy aspect. You can tell when it's supposed to be funny and when it's not. When I read the script, there were parts I laughed at, and I thought, “Am I supposed to laugh at that?” After talking to Frank and Michael, I saw that they knew they wanted it to be funny at times. That made it appeal to me even more. It's the kind of comedy where you laugh at something and go, “Maybe I'm kind of sick for laughing at that?”
On His Character
Ben Christianson is a family man who lives in the suburbs. He’s a very successful man financially and very concerned with pursuing the American dream. He presents the image of a very successful, very loving father. He's a bit like a walking Ford commercial. It looks perfect from the outside, but his interior spaces are darker and more conflicted. Ben is full of guilt, anxiety, and anger and is involved in a relationship that's not working. He is not a very forward-thinking person. He can only see what's right in front of him. He becomes this walking time bomb of anxiety, guilt, and depression. Ben’s a prime candidate for a Prozac sandwich.
What Attracted Him to Wicked
The daringness of it. There are elements in this script that are so daring and so frightening that it's like being on the top of the Golden Gate Bridge and looking down. People who fear heights become so frightened they have to jump. This was a role that, as an actor, because it's so unsettling and disturbing, compels you to jump into it.
The Controversial Nature of the Script
You always have those trepidations. I am a father with a small child. But on the other hand, I'm also an actor, and you look for material that can be exciting, unique, innovative, and even controversial. Not just controversial for the sake of controversy but because of the challenge of making the unimaginable become imaginable and understandable to an audience. How do you create that emotional reality and then put it up on screen? I've been acting since I was 19 years old and trying to solve this paradox within this part in this movie is the most satisfying creative experience I've ever had.
How He Would Describe Wicked
How do you describe the indescribable? How do you explain the unexplainable or imaginable? Wicked is a murder mystery but it carries into some very different realms. It exists in an imaginary suburb called Casa Del Norte, the world of which is astounding. The movie starts with a very firm reality and starts spinning into this amazing, unique tale.
Ben’s Troubled Marriage
Ben is involved in a miserable marriage. Ben and Karen have probably been married for quite a while and have had trouble for many years. At the start of the movie, we're witnessing a marriage collapsing. The family is very close to being blown apart. Ben is having an affair with his nanny, and Karen is having an affair with the neighbor, and they both suspect each other. We're witnessing a very troubled marriage.
Ben’s Relationship with His Daughters
Ben loves his daughters and is particularly close to his oldest daughter, Ellie. He thinks he's the most wonderful father. Dr. Spock or family psychologists probably wouldn't view him that way, but Ben sees it as, “Look, you can tell my daughters love me. I'm very special to them.”
Handling the Emotional Roller Coaster of the Film
Living in the confines of the Casa Del Norte soundstage for the last ten days has been amazing. It's like somebody put Alka-Seltzer in my bloodstream because it's been an amazing ride, especially with the emotionality required for the character. I'm becoming a very strange human being playing this part.
I feel like a trapeze artist. You let go of the bar, and you're soaring through the air, and you either hope the catcher catches you or you catch the bar on the return. You're either gonna fall into an abyss, or you'll catch the bar and swing to the other side and have this tremendous feeling of exhilaration.
Working with Director Michael Steinberg
I've been acting since I was 19 years old, and Michael Steinberg is the best director I've ever worked with, bar none. The whole process of working with Michael has been incredible. He’s like this mad scientist, and we're working on this project that plays with you on every level. Michael is an amazing talent and an amazing human being. I think The Waterdance is an incredible film. Wicked is quite a departure. This movie, for all of us, represents a departure. It's a very unique script. Any actor who gets to work with Mike Steinberg is truly blessed. He's wonderful, and he and our producer, Frank, are quite the dynamic duo.
On Her Character
In an early meeting, we discussed that Mrs. Potter is probably a former Miss Casa Del Norte. It’s not really discussed if she has kids from a former marriage, but she's definitely a single woman. You can tell by how she carries herself and how she dresses that she is definitely looking for Mr. Right to come back around, or maybe for the first time. She meets this interesting detective, played by Michael Parks, in this movie of ours, and they hit it off in an odd way.
Mrs. Potter is the comic relief. I get to sing in this movie and at a wedding—I won't tell you whose wedding—but I sing at a wedding. They picked the song “I Honestly Love You,” which I used to do years ago in my act, so it was fun to do it again.
Karen’s Murder
When Detective Boland first meets Mrs. Potter, she is questioned as if she could be a suspect, but that ends pretty quickly. However, Mrs. Potter has some good instincts, which she combines with being a nosy body. She's trying to piece things together, but she feels it's one person throughout the movie, even though other little clues fall into place. She never lets go of her initial thought on who it is.
What Attracted Her to Wicked
I was attracted to the director before I read the script. Michael Steinberg wrote me a couple of letters and asked if I would read the script and consider playing Mrs. Potter. With that letter came a wonderful bio on him and some of the work that he'd done, which I was familiar with. I thought that was very flattering. I liked his style and I liked the way the guy wrote a letter. He wrote two letters. It was, “Read the letter. Read the script. Then read letter two after you read the script.” Then he told me how he was gonna shoot it and all of that, but when I read the script, I couldn't put it down. I read it on the plane from New York to L.A. and I just kept flipping those pages. When I found out who had done it, I was shocked
The Weirdness in Wicked
There are a lot of weird people in this film. Everybody is scarred. Everybody is flawed. It’s interesting because Mrs. Potter is really one of the good guys in the script along with Detective Boland. But he's had a checkered past, you can tell by looking in his eyes. Mrs. Potter is more of one who wants a checkered past. But I think she's one of the few redeeming characters. Everybody in this movie should be in therapy. They are not going to Sunday school on Saturday and Sunday morning, that's for sure.
Working with the Cast
I worked with Julia only on two scenes, but she was really connected to the material and absolutely terrific. She's a fine actress, but I can only imagine where her career will take her.
Michael Parks, talk about “still waters run deep.” Michael and I met years ago. My very first job in the whole world was on the Johnny Cash show in Nashville, where Michael came on and sang. So, on the first day of shooting, I went up to him and said, “I'm sure you don't remember me. I was a teenager in Nashville, Tennessee, and we did the Johnny Cash show together.” He looked at me and looked at me again, and he said, “Now I'm gonna have to fall in love with you, too.” We had a great time. We sang on the set almost every day. He knows every song ever written, from Cole Porter to Hoagy Carmichael to Kern to Rodgers and Hart. He knows Willie Nelson, too. The storehouse of musical information in his head is really overwhelming.
Billy (William R. Moses) has the best name show business. Billy Moses, it sounds like he's gonna come out of a Ben-Hur movie or something. He was great. He has a unique wiriness that is so perfect for the part. He has a unique combination of talent and chemistry and a vibe about him that is very mysterious. It's absolutely dead-on perfect for this part.
How Audiences Will Respond to Wicked
Everybody loves a good murder mystery, and so many people could have done it in this particular script. So many people had the window of opportunity and the reason to do it. Everybody loves a good ole whodunit.
On His Character
What makes Boland tick? A paycheck. Curiosity. People in this field of criminology are curious folks. They’re invasive, though he's a little less invasive than most. From looking at the film, they tell me that it looks like something out of a film noir, out of the 1940s or something, but there are few of those old dinosaurs left. They had a different approach than a lot of the younger ones now.
Watch Wicked on the following streaming platforms: Amazon, YouTube, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu, Plex, and Tubi.