She already has Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards on her shelf at home, but if Cynthia Erivo doesn’t add an Oscar for playing Elphaba in Wicked: For Good to her collection, she won’t sweat it.
“I don’t think like that,” insists the British-born star, 38, whose parents immigrated to the UK due to the Nigerian Civil War.
“I don’t do what I do for awards. I do it because I love it.”
Here, Cynthia talks to Woman’s Day about shaving her head, bonding with co-star Ariana Grande and what to expect from part two of their musical…
How are you coping with all the buzz and expectations around the sequel?
I’m excited because I know what is to come and I couldn’t be more proud of the movie. Wicked was wonderful, but it was only the first instalment. This is a whole new movie and I can honestly say that Wicked: For Good is even more special.
What would you say is the biggest difference between the two films?
Mainly where Elphaba and Glinda are on their journey together. They’ve made certain choices and so they’re in a very different space now. At the beginning of this one, they are separate and living their own lives. I really love their journey in this one – how they’re trying to figure out the way ahead for their friendship and as individuals. Discovering how these two women have grown together and grown apart in ways, and that they still have to rediscover each other, was a really interesting, lovely sort of journey that they have to come to in their own time. I think people will be very moved watching it. I know I was making it.
How is it to go through the transformation in hair, makeup and costume to become Elphaba?
It’s a process, but it’s one I actually enjoy. I love working with everyone and seeing the transformation happen.
You agreed to have your head shaved to help with giving you green skin for the first Wicked. What made you keep the look?
The moment we did it and I saw myself with the bald head, I just thought, “That’s it. This feels like who I want to be.”
The bald head is very much part of me now. I shave it myself. I love it.
Can you go anywhere without being recognised these days?
No, not really. Anonymity is not something I get to have any more – I have people doing my Elphaba war cry at me in the street. Wicked has changed my life in so many ways and being recognised
is one of them. But as long as people recognise me and talk to me as a person and not a character, then I don’t have too much of a problem with it.
Has that level of fame helped you in your other creative projects?
It has. As a recording artist, it has opened eyes and ears to my music in a way that really didn’t happen before.
How would you describe your relationship with Ariana and what are the chances of you both working together again?
I love her and we love working together. We’ve been on this journey together from the beginning. The first thing we did when we got these roles was jump on the phone to talk to each other and work it out. That is what we have done ever since and we will continue to do even after Wicked. From the moment we first met, it just felt so right. We love being together. It’s a real friendship before anything else. I would love to work with Ariana again, but even if we don’t, we will always care for and look after each other.
Wicked: For Good is in cinemas from Thursday.
