VideoWhat Did Ariana DeBose Say After Audra McDonald Stopped Her in the Airport to Celebrate Her West Side Story Success?Plus, the Tony nominee talks about filming the “America” scene and what didn’t make it into The Prom.
By
Dan Meyer
December 17, 2021
There are times when you want to meet your idol—but right after you’ve earned not one, but two, major award nominations for your on-screen performance as Anita in West Side Story might not be the most opportune. Check out Ariana DeBose sharing her airport encounter with six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald above during an interview on The Late Late Show With James Corden.
“I was so taken aback that she stopped me. She totally changed my life. ’Wheels of a Dream,’ her vocals [are] everything to me,” said DeBose. “I was so horribly awkward. I literally just said, ‘I’m very emotional right now. It’s nice to meet you.’”
The moment happened just after DeBose learned she had scored a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award nomination. The actor has been earning rave reviews for her performance as the beloved character in Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner’s adaptation of the 1957 musical from Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins.
In her interview with Corden, the Tony nominee also discussed what it was like filming the “America” sequence, dance moves that didn’t make the cut in Netflix’s adaptation of The Prom (in which Corden also starred), and how she won free ice cream for the rest of her life from Cold Stone Creamery.
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Check Out New Photos of Steven Spielberg’s Film Adaptation of West Side Story
Check Out New Photos of Steven Spielberg’s Film Adaptation of West Side Story
26 PHOTOS
West Side Story
Cast ofWest Side Story
Mike Faist and Ansel Elgort in West Side Story
Rachel Zegler in West Side Story
Mike Faist and cast in West Side Story
20th Century Studios
David Alvarez in West Side Story
Nikko Tavernise
Rachel Zegler in West Side Story
Ariana DeBose in West Side Story
Ilda Mason, Ariana DeBose, and Ana Isabelle in West Side Story
Niko Tavernise
Rachel Zegler and Ansel Elgort in West Side Story
David Alvarez in West Side Story
Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler in West Side Story
Rachel Zegler in West Side Story
20th Century Studios
Ansel Elgort in West Side Story
Ansel Elgort in West Side Story
Mike Faist in West Side Story
Cast of West Side Story
Ansel Elgort and Rachel Zegler in West Side Story
Nikko Tavernise
Rachel Zegler in West Side Story
Nikko Tavernise
Ansel Elgort in West Side Story
Ariana DeBose and cast of West Side Story
Nikko Tavernise
Ariana DeBose, David Alvarez, and cast of West Side Story
Nikko Tavernise
David Alvarez and cast of West Side Story
Rita Moreno in West Side Story
Nikko Tavernise
Rita Moreno in West Side Story
Steven Spielberg and Rita Moreno in West Side Story