Under the rainbow: LGBTQ+ stars who brought ‘Wicked’ to life

One of the biggest blockbusters of all time has a very queer cast and crew.

Directed by Jon M. Chu, the first Wicked movie featured huge stars like Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba), Ariana Grande (Glinda), Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero), Michelle Yeoh (Madame Morrible), and Jeff Goldblum (the Wizard). Its sequel, Wicked: For Good, added yet another big star: Colman Domingo as the voice actor behind the iconic Cowardly Lion.

The LGBTQ+ community has been rejoicifying that so many queer performers and creatives — both on- and off-camera — have successfully brought this epic saga and record-breaking films to the big screen. Beyond the success of Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West — which recently spun off Maguire’s latest novel, Elphie, as a prequel to the original book — and the smash hit musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman on Broadway, the Wicked movies have become a juggernaut franchise of their own.

In a world of so much prejudice and hatred, it’s wonderful to see such an LGBTQ-inclusive franchise not only succeeding, but also thriving and smashing all expectations precisely because it welcomed the perspectives and experiences of so many queer performers and behind-the-scenes creatives.

Learn more about the LGBTQ+ performers and creatives who contributed to bringing the Wicked movies to life, below. Wicked: For Good opens November 21 in theaters.

Colman Domingo as the Cowardly Lion (voice actor)

The most recent Wicked: For Good cast update revealed that the beloved, critically acclaimed, luminary out actor Colman Domingo was chosen to voice the Cowardly Lion in the Wicked sequel, following a brief period of cryptic posts from director Jon M. Chu teasing who that actor would be.

Domingo is best known for his Academy Award-nominated performances in Rustin and Sing Sing, his Emmy Award-winning guest role from HBO’s Euphoria, and his Tony Award-nominated work in productions like The Scottsboro Boys and Fat Ham.

The actor is currently attached to the new Tina Fey comedy The Four Seasons on Netflix, a new Michael Jackson biopic (playing MJ’s father Joseph Jackson), and will star in Steven Spielberg’s yet-untitled feature film set for a release in 2026.

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba Thropp

Cynthia Erivo, one of the best live performers and on-screen actors of our time, and the recipient of the 2024 Icon of the Year title in the Out100, has completely redefined the character of Elphaba Thropp despite this already being such a well-known figure in the zeitgeist — from Margaret Hamilton’s original portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in 1939’s The Wizard of Oz, to the revisionist perspective shared by Maguire’s 1995 novel, to the gravity-defying hero originated by Idina Menzel on Broadway.

Still, Erivo found a way to make Elphaba her own in the movies, not only meeting the impossible task of doing the character justice, but far exceeding the expectations of even diehard Wicked and Oz fans.

After an electrifying run of Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl, Erivo is set to star in a new West End production of Dracula — playing a whopping 26 characters overall — from director Kip Williams.

Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero Tigelaar

The handsome, charismatic, and extremely talented Jonathan Bailey is casually proving how fierce of a performer he is in the Wicked movies.

After gaining a new legion of fans from his roles as Lord Anthony Bridgerton on Bridgerton and Tim Laughlin on Fellow Travelers, Bailey finally brought to life a version of Fiyero that long-time Wicked fans had always heard about but hadn’t really seen: A truly irresistible young heartthrob who hates school, makes both Elphaba and Glinda fall in love with him, and eventually wakes up to the realities of Oz that he used to ignore.

Between the releases of Wicked and Wicked: For Good, Bailey starred as Dr. Henry Loomis in a new Jurassic Park reboot titled Jurassic World Rebirth alongside costars Scarlett Johansson and Mahershala Ali.

Marissa Bode as Nessarose Thropp

Marissa Bode made history as the first-ever wheelchair user to play Nessarose Thropp, a character who does use a wheelchair in the Wicked musical and films.

Though the original 1995 Wicked novel depicted Nessarose as not having arms, the Broadway production adapted her to have arms, and use a wheelchair, instead. The Wicked movies have been a huge breakout moment for the entire cast — but even more to Bode, who hadn’t been in a major production of this scale prior to 2024’s Wicked.

With this new platform, Bode has continued her advocacy to make Hollywood productions more welcoming to people with disabilities, and to make spaces more accessible for wheelchair users, too.

Bowen Yang as Pfannee

Glinda (née Galinda) had quite a few friends in the original novel, but those popular friends just weren’t as specific and/or personified in the Broadway musical. In the Wicked movies, that popular clique surrounding Glinda did get two main figureheads: Pfannee (played by Bowen Yang) and Shenshen (played by Bronwyn James).

Since gaining notoriety for cohosting the Las Culturistas podcast with Matt Rogers and becoming a regular player on Saturday Night Live, Yang’s career has skyrocketed. As an actor, he is best known for playing Howie in Fire Island, Chris in 2025’s The Wedding Banquet, and God — yes, God! — in Dicks: The Musical.

Bronwyn James as Shenshen

Prior to the Wicked movies, Bronwyn James was best known for starring in projects like Harlots, Sandylands, Cheaters, and Lockwood & Co. Since starring as Shenshen in the 2024 musical film and its 2025 sequel Wicked: For Good, James has also benefitted from being in one of the biggest blockbusters of all time.

In 2025 alone, James starred in both Mickey 17 and the live-action remake of How to Train Your Dragon.

Sharon D. Clarke as Dulcibear (voice actor)

Sharon D. Clarke voiced Dulcibear in Wicked — the main Animal nurse who holds Elphaba after she’s born and raises the young green witch.

This musical theater legend won three Laurence Olivier Awards throughout her career for West End productions of The Amen Corner, Caroline, or Change, and Death of a Salesman. On TV and film, Clarke is best known for her roles in Rocketman, Havoc, Tau, and Holby City.

Paul Tazewell (costume designer)

Paul Tazewell made Oscars history this year by becoming the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. In 2025, he was also featured as an Out100 honoree.

Beyond his Oscar-winning creations for the Wicked movies, Tazewell had previously won a Primetime Emmy Award for his costumes in The Wiz Live!, and two Tony Awards for his Broadway costumes seen in Hamilton and Death Becomes Her.

Lee Sandales (set designer)

As a set designer, Lee Sandales had been nominated for two Oscars over the years — in 2012 for War Horse, and in 2020 for 1917 — and finally took home an Academy Awards in 2025 for his work in the first Wicked movie.

Sandales, who lives in London with his husband Mark, is also known for his work in high-profile films such as Maleficent, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One, Solo: A Star Wars Story, The Batman, and Wonka, to name a few.

Gregory Maguire (‘Wicked’ novel author)

Even through novelist Gregory Maguire wasn’t directly involved in the production of the Wicked movies, he is the literal originator of this entire franchise that revisits and expands the Land of Oz from L. Frank Baum’s 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Without Maguire, most of these characters would remain nameless, not as three-dimensional, or wouldn’t even exist. The Broadway musical licensed the rights to Maguire’s 1995 Wicked novel to create the stage musical, and his original IP was once again utilized for this two-part cinematic saga. Spoiler alert: The musical turned Maguire’s body of work into an even more popular story, and the Wicked movies have turned his books into global phenomenons.