Ethan Slater flashed his chest as he posed for a new cover story for Fault Magazine that was published on Tuesday.
The 33-year-old actor – who has been embroiled in split rumors with girlfriend Ariana Grande – opened up about a variety of topics during his interview with the outlet, from discussing his own ‘faults’ and dealing with his rising fame.
The Tony-nominated performer recently took on the role of Boq/Tin Man in Wicked: For Good – which dominated the box office with a record-breaking $226M opening weekend after releasing in theaters on November 21.
Slater posed up a storm on the cover while sporting a cropped black blazer as well as matching high-waisted bottoms from the menswear brand Sivan.
He opted to not add a shirt underneath while adding a colorful red brooch from Job Dacon on the left lapel of the stylish blazer.
The star completed the look by slipping into a pair of black shoes while standing in front of a plain, gray backdrop.
Ethan Slater, 33, flashed his chest as he posed for a new cover story for Fault Magazine that was published on Tuesday
The actor opened up about a variety of topics during his interview with the outlet, from discussing his own ‘faults’ and dealing with his rising fame
Slater’s professional acting career began in 2012 when he appeared in the short filmed A Guy Walks Into A Bar – followed by him taking part in the New York Musical Theatre Festival back in 2015.
The next year he took on the role of Spongebob Squarepants in The Spongebob Musical in 2016 – which garnered him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.
He then jumped farther into the spotlight when he was cast as Boq/Tin Man in the film adaptation of Wicked (2024) as well as the second part Wicked: For Godd (2025).
During his conversation with Fault Magazine, Slater reflected on his fame amid his advancing career in the industry.
‘What’s been rewarding over the past six months is that as more projects have come out, people are seeing more than just Boq,’ he said.
The actor expressed that he did not think he was ‘recognizable’ and added, ‘I’m pretty niche, but the more people see the different roles, the more they remember I’m playing characters.
‘It feels like the roles are moving to the forefront and Ethan is receding a little, which is nice. I feel lucky to be doing more things.’
Slater also got candid about his own faults and admitted that he was ‘not good at responding to text messages.’
Last week, Slater reignited breakup rumors with girlfriend Ariana Grande when he uncomfortably dodged a question about their relationship on the Today show; seen in February in L.A.
Slater posed up a storm on the cover while sporting a cropped black blazer as well as matching high-waisted bottoms from the menswear brand Sivan
The following year he took on the role of Spongebob Squarepants in The Spongebob Musical – which garnered him a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Musical; seen above in the musical in 2017 in NYC
During his conversation with Fault Magazine, Slater reflected on his fame amid his advancing career in the industry
‘It feels like the roles are moving to the forefront and Ethan is receding a little, which is nice. I feel lucky to be doing more things,’ the star said
He explained, ‘It can make it seem like I don’t care about people I love, but it’s really about overwhelm.
‘I struggle separating the anxiety of everything coming through my phone from the messages that genuinely matter.’
Slater also shared, ‘I definitely have a fear of being misunderstood, and that feeds into it. I feel frequently misunderstood, but you know, that is what it is.’
When it came to stepping away from the stage and onto the big screen, the star noted that there are vast differences.
‘It’s all about knowing who your audience is,’ the actor stated. ‘On stage, the audience is the whole house, you play your angles, make sure your voice carries, and your emotions are big enough for everyone to see.’
However when it comes to movies, Slater expressed that ‘your audience is the camera.
‘You still play your angles, but the camera is catching you differently. It’s the same goals with different techniques.’
‘Someone once said something to the effect of, “On stage, the audience hears what you say; on film, they hear what you think.” I think that’s true, even in a musical.’
Slater also shared, ‘I definitely have a fear of being misunderstood, and that feeds into it. I feel frequently misunderstood, but you know, that is what it is’
When it came to stepping away from the stage and onto the big screen, the star noted that there are vast differences
The Tony-nominated performer recently took on the role of Boq/Tin Man in Wicked: For Good – which dominated the box office with a record-breaking $226M opening weekend after releasing in theaters on November 21
Last week, Slater reignited breakup rumors with girlfriend Ariana Grande when he uncomfortably dodged a question about their relationship on the Today show.
The romance began as an on-set affair during the shoot of their two-part film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked.
The two stars were plunged into scandal on account of the fact Slater was married to his now ex-wife Lilly Jay, who shares a three-year-old son with him.
Slater and Grande were trailed by split speculation after the pair were not publicly seen together since April. However, the pair were spotted amid promotions for their new movie Wicked: For Good earlier this month.
They appeared to quash the conjecture by posing side by side in cast group shots at the NYC premiere of the second Wicked movie.
When he was asked about the experience of ‘working with your girlfriend everyday,’ Slater sidestepped the subject on Today and instead spoke in vague terms about how ‘incredible’ the ‘entire cast’ of his movie is.
Slater did call Grande ‘brilliant’ but also hailed her co-star Cynthia Erivo as ‘remarkable,’ rhapsodizing that seeing them both act ‘from such a high level up close’ was a ‘pretty special’ experience for him.
A source recently insisted that Slater and Grande are ‘still together’ despite the couple keeping their distance at last week’s Wicked: For Good premiere in London.
When he was asked about the experience of ‘working with your girlfriend everyday,’ Slater sidestepped the subject on Today and instead spoke in vague terms about how ‘incredible’ the ‘entire cast’ of his movie is; seen in February in Santa Monica
The two stars were plunged into scandal on account of the fact Slater was married to his now ex-wife Lilly Jay, who shares a three-year-old son with him; former couple seen above
They were said to have met up following the red carpet and screening.
An insider said: ‘Ariana and Ethan are still a couple but they’ve seen the chatter online and it’s not been easy.
‘They were both at the Leicester Square premiere and the after-party at Brasserie Zedel but made sure they weren’t seen together.’
The source continued to tell The Sun how they are both reluctant for their relationship to play out in public.
They added: ‘When Ariana left the after-party, she went back to her hotel suite.
‘Not long after, Ethan was taken there and went up to see Ariana to spend time with her.’
The Daily Mail contacted representatives for Ariana and Ethan at that time.
But earlier last week on Monday, Grande and Slater were seen posing side by side in group shots at the New York City premiere of their new film.
Last month the Daily Mail was told how Grande and Slater’s plans for a wedding were put on hold, and while they haven’t been pictured together since April, sources claimed they’ve been ‘on and off’ for several months.
An insider said: ‘Ariana and Ethan are still a couple but they’ve seen the chatter online and it’s not been easy’; Grande seen in January in Beverly Hills
But earlier last week on Monday, Grande and Slater were seen posing side by side in group shots at the New York City premiere of their new film (seen above)
When news of their romance broke in July 2023, Grande had just split from her husband Dalton Gomez – while Slater was still married to Lilly Jay with whom he shared a then one-year-old son.
Critics have been feeding on signs their romance is not built to last and have long speculated that they have in fact silently split.
Many have suggested they will not make it known until after Wicked: For Good premieres and the hype dies down so as not to overshadow the release and the run up to the 2026 awards season.
Sources previously told the Daily Mail that Grande’s career and level of fame has been another obstacle – Slater himself described her fans as ‘ferocious’ and ‘intense’ in a recent interview.
