Cynthia Erivo shares surprising truth about her 'Wicked' role

Cynthia Erivo, a notable figure in the world of acting and singing, has shared how she was painted green to play Elphaba in the musical adaptation Wicked.

The new NBC special show Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked showed behind the scenes, featuring Erivo, along with her co-stars Ariana Grande, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, and Jonathan Bailey.

Shedding light on the intense transformation she had to undergo each day, the Pinocchio star explained that it used to take up to "four hours" to cover her in paint, and "no CGI" was used.

In one part, the 37-year-old star showed behind-the-scenes photos from her phone of herself sitting in the makeup chair while she was being painted green.

Jonathan Bailey, who plays Fiyero in the film, joked, “You were actually green every day,” to which she replied, “That's very true. I knew that if I looked at myself and didn't see the green, I don't think I could have made the connection to her."

“And something happens when all of that green is on. The freckles go on, the hair goes on, the make-up goes on, the eyes go on, and it's not me I'm looking at, it's her,” the Drift actress added.

Then Erivo went on to remark by articulating, "But also something happens when you walk into a room, especially when you have lots of background artists and they meet you and you're green! The DNA in the space."

“I agree, the energy shifts.” Bailey concluded, giving his seal of approval to Erivo’s statement.

It is noteworthy to mention that Wicked is all set to release in cinemas all across the globe on November 22, 2024.