Jonathan Bailey Says Wicked Prosthetics Made Him Look Like A “Penis”

Spoiler warning: This post contains spoilers for Wicked: For Good. Wicked’s hair and makeup department deserves all their flowers. Whether they were creating the perfect green shade for Elphaba’s skin or figuring out how to bring the Scarecrow and Tin Man to life, they gave it their all. And according to Jonathan Bailey, who played Fiyero in Wicked: Part 1 and Wicked: For Good, it took some time to figure out how to best show his character’s transformation into a scarecrow.

In Wicked: For Good, Elphaba used her magic to turn Fiyero into the Wizard of Oz’s Scarecrow in order to save his life. Although he survived the guards’ beating (as she intended), when they reunited, he was unrecognizable. Apparently, Bailey’s straw-like appearance was not accomplished with CGI. “It was all prosthetics,” he told Esquire in an interview published Nov. 21.

For the actor, the transformation was always top-of-mind, even when they were working on the first film. “The first thing that I started thinking about, even before the ‘Dancing Through Life’ choreography, was exactly what the Scarecrow would look like,” he added.

“There were loads of makeup tests. But it was all real,” Bailey continued. “There was a lot of plumbing under the skin to try and keep me cool. Without the straw hair, I just looked like a big wheat penis.”

During the conversation, Bailey also touched on the possibility of a third film. “I have no idea. I mean, the world is so incredible. Who knows?” he said. “I mean, all the characters have potential.”

Later in the interview, he said. “The two girls together are just cinematic history. And I think the turmoil that Glinda's going through and the fact that she steps up is an extraordinary thing. In a way you'd want to see where they both end up, I think, going forward.”

However, Bailey did not sound as excited about prospect of getting back in the Scarecrow’s prosthetics. “I don't know. I don't know how six months in prosthetics sounds,” he said. However, Bailey mused on a potential upside to wearing the disguise. “But then again, maybe I can use the prosthetics to go to music festivals,” he added.