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Peter Dinklage’s Wicked Role, Explained: Does He Sing? Everything to Know
You've seen goats provide milk for cheese and screams for viral internet memes — but have you ever seen one teach history?
You've seen goats provide milk for cheese and screams for viral internet memes — but have you ever seen one teach history? It may seem strange to us on Earth, but in the merry old land of Oz, a scholarly farm animal with professorial tenure is a horse (or in this case, goat) of a different color.
Now that the long-awaited film adaptation of Wicked is playing in theaters nationwide (click here for tickets) fans are noticing that Game of Thrones alum Peter Dinklage appears in the movie, not as himself, but as the literal "goated" Doctor Dillamond, head of the history department at Shiz University.
RELATED: Does Wicked Have a Post-Credits Scene?
Who does Peter Dinklage play in the Wicked movie?
Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor Peter Dinklage lends his voice to Doctor Dillamond, head of the history department at Shiz University, the prestigious institution and higher learning attended by Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande).
“It was a bit of a lonely process, recording in a sound booth apart from the rest of the cast, but it’s such an honor to be part of something this universally loved and amazingly creative,” Dinklage states in the production notes from Universal Pictures. “My daughter has seen the Broadway show five times, and her friends still want to go for every birthday party. Wicked resonates because everyone feels like an outsider at some point. It’s about defining your independence and strength within that feeling of isolation. Above all, it teaches kindness, which is the most important thing.”
When we first meet Dillamond, the hoofed character is on his way out of the teaching field — the result of increasingly draconian policies against Oz's talking animal population (courtesy of Jeff Goldblum's fascistic Wizard). This blatant discrimination against another population strikes a deep cord within Elphaba, who has been shunned her entire life because of her green skin. Her outspoken dissent against such bigotry does have unintended consequences as Elphaba becomes Public Enemy No. 1, aka the Wicked Witch of the West.
Does Peter Dinklage sing in Wicked?
Yes! Dinklage performs "Something Bad," a rather ominous song in which Dillamond enumerates the growing crimes against animals and suspicious rumors about anthropomorphic beasts losing the ability of speech. Elphaba suggests they bring these dire concerns to the Wizard, naively unaware that it is the Ozian leader behind the anti-animal campaign.
How can you watch Wicked in theaters?
After 20 years of anticipation, the movie version of Wicked is finally playing in theaters everywhere. Click here to pick up tickets for yourself and the whole family! The sequel — Wicked Part Two — is set to follow on November 21, 2025.
