Cristin Milioti on Her Failed Wicked Audition and The Penguin with Colin Farrell | The Tonight Show

-Welcome back to the show. Everything good? -Pretty good. -Yeah, yeah. Things are going pretty well. -Yeah. Pretty good. -Oh, I wanted to ask you quickly about this. I heard this, uh, story. I don't know if it's true or not, and if it's not true, we can cut it out of the show. -Okay. -But did you audition for "Wicked"? -I did, and sure did. -You did? -Yeah. Yes, I, um -- "Wicked" is, like, one of my favorite musicals. I was there the night it reopened after the pandemic. Like, I love "Wicked." -Yeah. -And they called me and asked if I would want to audition for Elphaba, which is the green witch. -Oh, my gosh. -Yeah, very exciting. But I was like, "Really?" Do I have to sing the like... [ Vocalizes ] -Oh, yeah, the... [ Vocalizes ] Yeah, the commercial. Yes, of course. -I'd say that's the part. It's like the best. You know, I'm sure everyone here has seen "Wicked." It's, like, the best. It's end of act one -- -Powerful. -She flies and she goes... [ Both vocalize ] And so I was like, uh -- I was like, "Yeah, yeah. Oh, my God. Yes. Of course. And will they need the..." [ Vocalizes ] -And they were like, "Yeah let's check. So they actually will need the 'ah-ah-ah'" And I was like, "Okay. Got it." -Okay, pressure on. -So I had two weeks, and this was also my first in-person audition since COVID. So like I hadn't been in a room with people. -Little rusty. Little rusty. -Little rusty. Little rusty. Little shaky. Not great for singing. Not great for high notes. -No. And I just found myself, like, walking around my apartment. It was like "The Tell-Tale Heart." Like, all I could hear was like [vocalizes]. And anytime I would talk to someone, I would, like, be, like 500 miles away. Just, like, quietly thinking of, like, [vocalizes], like over and over and over. -Yeah, like, I gotta nail it. -And then the big day comes and they're like, you know -- Oh, and they're so nice and they're lovely. And they're like, "Come on in. Oh my gosh, so nice to meet you, blah blah." -And I'm like, [shaky voice] "It's so nice to meet you too." -[ Laughs ] Your actual voice. -Yeah, like -- And you can feel, like -- I can just feel myself being like, "Uh-huh, and so what do you want to begin with?" And then we start singing through the songs, and I'm, like, doing it, like, we're singing the songs. We're like, getting through. We're hitting "When I Meet The Wizard," we're hitting "Not That Girl," like, all these things. And then they were like, "Are you ready for the big boy?" And I was like, "Yeah, I'm ready. Yeah, let's do it. I can do this." And they start the music and this like calmness washes over me and I'm like, "Oh, this is going to be like a '90s movie. Like, it's going to be slo-mo, like "League of Their Own." Like, I'm actually gonna be able to do it. Like I think I'm going to do it. I think I'm going to hit this crazy note that I've been obsessing over and I, like, opened my mouth wide. I took a deep breath, and the sound that escaped me is something I will hear on my deathbed. Like I will never not hear what I did in that room. -Really? -It was disgusting. It was -- It was like... -No. -No, it was. It was like when you hear coyotes attack as a group, like it was -- it was horrible. It was like there was an injury. It's sounded terrible. And then the worst part is that there was like this silence that followed. -[ Laughs ] Oh, my God. -And especially like, oh my God, like, and I knew what I'd done and they knew what I'd done. And they had these like, like plastered smiles. And they were so nice. And they were like, "Cristin, thank you so much." And I was like, "Oh, no!" -You know, like, yeah, exactly. -Yeah. -That being said, I mean, I cannot -- I'm so excited for that movie. And specifically Cynthia Erivo. -Cynthia Erivo got cast. -Is who should be singing that. -Cynthia Erivo... -Oh, my gosh. -I saw her... -I played the guitar to get the audition, we gave it to Jimi Hendrix. -Yeah. -Like, oh, my God. -She like, I saw her in "The Color Purple," and when she sings, like, you know, it's like a spirit, I leapt to my feet every time, I cannot wait to hear her. -But you are phenomenal, too. -Thank you. -I want to hear you sing. You should do a musical. -No, no, no, -Please. You're great. You know you are. -I want to do... -Do a musical. -I'm dying to do a musical. I don't think that, like, my voice necessarily fits the like [vocalizes]. -For that one. -You know, like that. I wish it did. -I want to talk about "The Penguin." -Sure. Okay. -It's on HBO. This is -- Everyone's buzzing about this, talking about this, you debuted this at Comic-Con in San Diego this summer. -Yeah. -What was that like? -Oh, my gosh. I mean, it was outrageous. It was like getting hit by a mack truck in the best way. I mean, I'm such a huge Batman fan, and I've been, like, wanting to play a Batman villain my entire life. And I grew up on these movies, and it's, like, wildly profound and moving to me. And so to be in a room... -How many people are we talking? -6,000. -6,000 people that love Batman. -6,000 people that love Batman. -Oh, yeah. Don't mess with my Batman. -Yeah, and we show them this trailer that they showed me before, which is like, it was like -- they love dropping trailers. Like, "Well, this is a new trailer," but it shows my character in Arkham, which was like, you know, for someone who loves Batman, when they put that uniform on me, I was like, "Oh, my God, it's cannon," like, you know, so excited. So to get to watch 6,000 people -- To get to watch that with 6,000 people was like, my blood was seltzer, I was like, floating. -Your blood was seltzer. -My blood was seltzer. And then I, like, had to sleep for three days afterward because it was like the most fabulous adrenaline crush. -I have to say, when Colin Farrell did The Penguin in "The Batman," it was unbelievable, I didn't know it was him. -It's crazy. -I finished the movie... -The makeup is outrageous. -Everything -- Normally, if I see it, I can kind of see it. I go "The person's wearing a rubber mask. -Yeah, I get it. -Totally. -I did not understand. "What do you mean he was in that movie?" -Yeah. And up close, you know, it's it's so real. It moves, it's like... -This is Colin Farrell, one of my favorite actors. -He's extraordinary. Yeah, and then this is him as Oswald as "The Penguin." -There he is. There's my guy. -No. It's unbelievable. Look at this. -Unbelievable, and such a testament to Mike Moreno who did that makeup. -What's it like talking to this guy, and then this guy? -Well, it's interesting because I'd only met Colin. This Colin. -Yeah. -The one. -Yeah. A few times in person, and we shot together for eight months, and I only knew Oz. And it's so strange because I associate -- I know those eyes and that voice so well, from just being like "ow is your weekend?" You know? Whatever. -Yeah. -And so when I see him outside of that, it's, like, very jarring because Oz is more of a real person who I've spent more time with than Colin. And it feels like someone has like "Freaky Friday" or body swap. It's like something's wrong. It feels like when you've been, like, riding a bicycle all day and then like, you get off the bicycle and you're like, "Whoa." -Yeah. -Like, I saw him a couple times outside of makeup, and I -- It was like a cat with socks on. I didn't love it. -[ Laughs ] -Because it's just so jarring. -But when you do these, you're not allowed to tell anyone anything. It's all secretive. -Yes. -I mean, are you good at that or do you do... -I mean, no, I mean, I -- I probably -- I mean, I like... -Wait, you can't even say... Can you say who... -I mean, I tell my friends. -You do? -I know. -Good for you! Good. I'm glad someone admitted. Finally, they admitted that you tell your friends. -Yeah, you have to tell your friends. I mean, I'm like, "Don't tell anyone." But you know. And they didn't -Yeah, they're good friends. -Yeah. -What can we say about this without giving too much away? -Well, uh... -We're all your friends. -Yeah, yeah, you're all my friends, right? -I would say that, uh -- so I play Sofia Falcone and, um, Oz and I battle it out for who's going to run Gotham, we're, like, each other's villains. And it sort of follows us as we battle for control of the city. -How fun. -I know. -How fun is this? -I know, it's really fun. -I want to show a clip, here's Cristin Milioti in "The Penguin," take a look. -You think you know what's best for me? Hmm? You think you know what I need? How are you any different than those bricks in there? -Ain't what I'm saying, Sofia. -So very, very convenient that all of a sudden you're on my side. Will you look at that? Right? My little helper. -All right. -[ Bleep ] desperate. You are scrambling for whatever dignity you have left. And you're hoping I will save you. Not gonna happen. I don't owe you a [bleep] thing. -You're right. You don't. I owe you. -Whoa! Come on! Cristin Milioti, "The Penguin" premieres September 19 on HBO and Max. We'll be right back with the performance from Talib Kweli and J. Rawls. Stick around, everybody.