Even while facing personal heartbreak, Ariana Grande poured everything she had into her Wicked performance.

In a new profile published by The New York Times, Wicked director Jon M Chu opened up about working with the pop star and actress, who was navigating her divorce from real estate broker Dalton Gomez during production. Despite the emotional strain, Chu said Grande’s vulnerability only strengthened her portrayal of Glinda the Good Witch.

“I got to watch her on days be upset in her real life and have to open up even more to deliver [even] for us,” Chu said. “She was not hiding anything from this camera.”

The filmmaker added that the “tumult” Grande, 32, was experiencing personally gave him complete confidence in her ability to handle the film’s darker moments.

Grande and Gomez, 30,

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