British-Nigerian actress and singer Cynthia Erivo graces the cover of ELLE USA’s Women in Hollywood December/January issue, where she reflected on her unexpected journey to playing Elphaba in the film version of “Wicked.”
In the interview, Cynthia discusses how the role resonates deeply with her identity as a Black actress, allowing her to infuse the character with her essence in ways she had never imagined.
Read excerpts of the interview below:
As a Black actress stepping into that role, Cynthia says:
Why would that change for the film? I couldn’t even dream about wanting it. When you’re in this skin and you walk around, you are immediately an ‘other’. It was a really wonderful experience to be able to step into this role, outside of my own skin, and into someone else’s, who has also been ‘othered.’ It’s important to know what it feels like. I hope that this shifts and changes things across stages.
On her experience working with Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda in “Wicked”:
I’ve gained a sister,” she shares. “we speak almost every day. Both of us were blown away by how connected we were immediately. I remember the first day we got to come together. It was at [director] Jon M. Chu’s house, and Stephen Schwartz [who wrote Wicked’s music and lyrics for both the OG Broadway musical and the film] was over. He played some songs for us, and we sang together for the first time. It worked. It’s a very intimate thing to sing with someone. There’s a really beautiful dance—I need to follow you, you have to follow me. It was one of the most gratifying things to know that there was someone who was that open and available, because she was, and that meant I could be as well.”
“We also had a beautiful relationship offscreen. We had really beautiful conversations, some that were not easy, but that’s what makes relationships. Those hard conversations that you can have with someone that mean that you have to be vulnerable are the things that make you close.
Reflecting on her journey, Cynthia notes,
I knew I wanted to be a singer. I knew I wanted to be successful. Those are the things that were very clear to me. I don’t know that I would have imagined it like this. It’s wonderful, not just because of the things that it comes with, but because I got to do it as me. To be at this point and to feel very much like myself, and to be also open to whatever growth may come, feels really wonderful.
Cynthia also credits women like Michelle Yeoh and Cicely Tyson for inspiring her, admiring their daring choices and resilience.
See more from her cover story here
Credits:
ELLE: @elleusa
Editor-in-chief: Nina Garcia @ninagarcia
Photographer: Felix Cooper @felix_cooper
Stylist: Patti Wilson @patti_wilson
Writer: Samuel Maude @samuel.p.maude
Makeup: Keita Moore at The Only Agency @kilprity @theonly.agency
Manicure: Gina Oh @ohriginails
Production: Dana Brockman at Viewfinders @dbrock324 @viewfindersnyla
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