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Jon M. Chu tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview about AAPI Heritage Month that he can emotionally relate to the struggles Elphaba faces in the Wicked movie
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The commemorative month is observed throughout May
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Chu, who directed the 2024 movie, says, “I know what it feels like to be an outsider”
Jon M. Chu understands Elphaba on a deeper level.
While speaking to PEOPLE about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the director, 45, revealed that he can emotionally relate to the struggles Elphaba faces in his Wicked movie. The commemorative month is observed throughout May in the United States, and recognizes the AAPI community for their contributions to American culture.
Chu, who directed the Academy Award-winning movie, says, “We’re talking about a girl who is judged by the color of her skin. To me, that is so many people’s story. I know what it feels like to be an outsider. To be looked at and judged immediately, and to always feel like you have to prove yourself.”
Lia Toby/Getty
Jon M. Chu attends the ‘Wicked: Part One’ European Premiere on Nov. 18, 2024 in London.
He continues, “I know what it feels like for people to always tell me, ‘Just don’t complain. Just keep your emotions under control.’ And I also know the feeling of when I have to let that go and be like, ‘No, now we need to be loud. Now we need to speak. What I’m saying is relevant.’ “
The director relates those strong emotions back to his experience in the entertainment industry. “That has been the journey, maybe up to this point, to be honest. It has been a 40-year journey of being an artist, to find the confidence to speak out and to speak up, and that’s all in Elphaba,” he says.
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The two-part movie, starring Ariana Grande, 31, and Cynthia Erivo, 38, is based on the 2003 Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman. The film tells the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West, the villain from L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.
The infamous witch is introduced as Elphaba Thropp (Erivo), a student at Shiz University, where she is roommates with Glinda (Grande), future good witch.
The first movie premiered to high reception in 2024, winning two Oscars, one Golden Globe and three Critics’ Choice Movie awards – one of which went to Chu for Best Director. The second part, titled Wicked: For Good, comes out in November.
Universal Pictures
Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in ‘Wicked’.
Chu says that the movie’s strong themes are also seen in Glinda. “Glinda lives in her bubble. We get into this a little bit more in movie two,” he explains. “As a person of privilege, you don’t have to face the hard stuff. You can live in your own bubble. But to actually decide to pop the bubble and see the ugly parts of the world, and try to fix it, or be a part of the solution, that takes a lot of courage.”
“That is us also,” he continues. “In fact, that’s mostly us. When we look at all the issues around the world and the things that are happening around us, it’s really hard to disrupt our own life for somebody else. Both sides of that are absolutely part of my life. That’s what me, Ari and Cynthia talked about all the time.”
The director calls making Wicked “one of the most creative and satisfying journeys of my life,” noting that all of his previous work led him to take on the monumental project. “It was a daunting task,” he says. “It took everything, every lesson I’ve learned on every movie I’ve been in, every interaction with a creative person, every muscle in my heart and my brain.”
Sanja Bucko/Warner Bros.
Michelle Yeoh, Henry Golding and Jon M. Chu on the set of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’.
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Chu wouldn’t have been able to make Wicked without first directing the star-studded romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians. “We were the underdogs. I didn’t think anyone would go see that movie,” he says of his 2018 hit. “It was a moonshot that we never actually thought would work.” But the movie’s success and his experience working with an entirely Asian cast gave him newfound confidence. “I had to grow to a place where I was ready to confront my own identity, to actually say something about my identity that might bite back at me later,” he adds.
The director, who also directed 2008’s Step Up 2: The Streets and two Justin Bieber documentaries, has now found a sense of belonging in Hollywood through the success of Wicked. He shares that he’s experienced “many little moments here and there” over the decades, but felt especially touched this year at the Oscar Awards in March.
Noel Vasquez/Getty
Jon Chu attends the ‘Step Up 2 The Streets’ DVD Release Party on July 14, 2008 in Los Angeles.
“I was actually invited this year,” Chu says, adding that he’s snuck in to the ceremony in the past and has attended as a plus one. “I was actually sitting down there and had a movie that was nominated for 10 Academy Awards. I was nervous because I didn’t know anybody there, but people came up to me to talk about Wicked. It was amazing.”
Grande and Erivo performed a melody of Judy Garland’s “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” “Home” from the 1975 Broadway musical The Wiz, and “Defying Gravity” from Wicked at the top of the award ceremony.
Chu recalls sitting next to Michelle Yeoh, who starred in Wicked and Crazy Rich Asians, during the performance. “We were holding hands,” he remembers of the special moment. “It felt so unlike any party or performance I had been to in my life. I was not a guest. I felt like those were my people, and everyone around me had seen our movie. There was just so much love that I did not feel like an outsider.”
Read the original article on People
