Cynthia Erivo talks about the special nuances she brought to her character Wicked.
In a new interview with DiversityErivo, 37, details how Elphaba, who she plays in the film, began wearing braids instead of the signature long, dark waves worn by the character in the musical.
“I asked if we could reimagine that hair as micro braids because I knew you would still have movement, and you could still have length, but there was a texture that was a little bit different than what you would normally see on stage,” he said. is a Grammy winner.
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) in “Wicked”.
Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
“It was a direct connection between me as a black woman and Elphaba as a green lady,” Erivo continued.
Elphaba’s micro braids were just one way the singer-actress ensured her character was “connected to the person underneath, to me.” Another was Elphaba’s long fingernails, which mirrored Eriv’s.
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“I was doing research for this character, and I noticed that the original Wicked Witch had fingernails,” Purple the actress said in a video she shared exclusively with PEOPLE last month.
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“I wanted progression. As she grows as a witch and a woman. Some people wear makeup, I always have my nails done. It’s like another extended way of expressing myself,” she continued.
According to DiversityElphaba’s nails become darker and longer as her powers grow, something makeup and hair designer Frances Hannon told the outlet “came from Cynthia.”
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Cynthia Erivo poses at the Ozdust Ball “Wicked” New York premiere at the Museum of Modern Art on November 14, 2024 in New York City.
Bruce Glikas/WireImage
The Harriet star is only the second black woman to portray the Wicked Witch of the West from The Wizard of Oz universe, after Alexia Khadima who played the role in the West End production Wicked from 2008-2010 and later in 2023.
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said Erivo Diversity in an article published on November 26, that she hopes her portrayal of Elphaba is “a little bit of a love letter to everyone who feels different, who feels out of place, to all the black women who walked into rooms and felt like they weren’t welcome to anyone who walked into room and felt like they weren’t welcome.”
“I’m really glad to be the conduit through which this character came into the world,” she said at the time.
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Source: HIS Education