Jeff Goldblum Says Playing the Wizard in Wicked Inspired His Decision to Quit Meat
Some of the best works of fiction ever created have poignantly illuminated our real-world shortcomings, but who’d have suspected that something as whimsically fantastical as an “Oz” movie would shine one such light? Jeff Goldblum, who plays the not-so-Wonderful Wizard himself in last year’s hit musical “Wicked” and its imminent sequel, “Wicked: For Good,” has been profoundly affected by the experience of portraying this character, and it’s inspired him to make a major lifestyle decision for the betterment of the animal kingdom.
Jeff Goldblum’s “Wicked” Wizard – A Tyrant as Well as a Shyster
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz has never lived up to his adjective very well. In the original 1900 novel and its long-beloved 1939 film adaptation, he’s a smoke-and-mirrors con man who merely poses as a being of great power, wisdom, and virtue – albeit also an essentially good soul who owns up to his subterfuge in the end.
However, the film “Wicked,” like the musical and novel (essentially a mature take on L. Frank Baum’s whimsical world) on which it’s based, gives Jeff Goldblum’s Wizard a much darker role than the character has ever had before. In this portrayal, his con game is in the service of his cruel dictatorship, and he ruthlessly exploits those with actual magical powers, such as the future Witch of the West (Cynthia Erivo), to do his bidding. Specifically, he manipulates her into casting a spell that makes his captive monkeys develop wings, which cause them great pain and discomfort while making them more useful to him as his slaves.
“Wicked”‘s Animal Cruelty: A Mirror Held Before the Real World
This callous scheme is but one facet of the vicious persecution and oppression that the animals of Oz face in “Wicked.” The film depicts the talking animals of Shiz University as coming under fire from various human authorities who wish to reduce them to caged, speechless beasts.
The cruelty with which the Wizard and various other “Wicked” villains treat these non-human characters has resonated with Jeff Goldblum. On November 10, the 73-year-old star (whose classic characters in “The Fly” and “Jurassic Park” also demonstrated callous, albeit narratively vindicated, attitudes toward non-human species) revealed in an interview with Good Morning that working on this film and its upcoming sequel has inspired him to give up consuming meat. This decision will change his Thanksgiving quite a bit, he admitted, “but I’m happy. We need the world to work for everybody on Earth, and every creature too.”
Jeff Goldblum’s Resolve: An Example of Cinema’s Power
When wielded right, the themes conveyed through motion pictures have been a powerful tool for inspiring audiences to stop and think about the world they inhabit and what they should be doing to change it. Even the fantasy genre can bring home impactful messages, however broad in nature. (Who can listen to Gandalf in “The Fellowship of the Ring,” explaining how we can decide our actions but not our circumstances, without being stirred to battle the real-world forces of denialism?) Jeff Goldblum’s resolution on behalf of animals around the world reminds us once again that our life lessons can come from the most unexpected sources.
