Cynthia Erivo is best known for her powerhouse vocals and dramatic performances. Still, for her upcoming 2024 movie release in the upcoming Wicked, she faces a new challenge: turning into the green-skinned “Wicked” Witch of the West. And while Cynthia is all smiles when joking about her transformation for one of the most beloved modern musicals, the process sounds easy. Frankly, it sounds like a massive hassle to achieve the look.
In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the Outsider star, alongside her fellow Wicked cast mate Ariana Grande, opened up about what it takes to embody the iconic character on screen—and it’s not a quick process. The actress revealed that achieving Elphaba’s look took hours of meticulous work, even when only part of her body needed to be painted. She told the outlet:
Two hours and 45 minutes to three hours if it was just head, neck, hands. If it was the whole body, that was, like, four hours.
But the length of time wasn’t the only challenge. Finding the right shade of green for the iconic character’s skin was a meticulous task that required multiple “green tests” to get just right. The Widows actress explained:
Some greens really didn’t work. We had alien-esque ones that were just too far. On brown, it reads like skin.
The makeup didn’t stop with just the skin. Erivo also had to wear colored contacts, special lipstick, and use four different wigs to achieve Elphaba’s signature perfect hair look. Cynthia went the extra mile and shaved her head for the role to ensure that the wigs fit perfectly on camera. This allowed the makeup artists to paint directly onto her scalp, blending the green makeup seamlessly with the wigs.
Despite the intense and laborious process, the Bad Times at the El Royale actress maintained her sense of humor. She fondly recalled the moment she saw herself without the wig for the first time, saying:
Green-scalp Cynthia. Like a little bald-headed green lady.
Though the Harriet A-lister has found some humor in her grueling makeup situation, her commitment to preparing for the role underscores her dedication to bringing Elphaba to life for the upcoming page-to-screen adaptation. In the Vanity Fair interview, she and her co-star Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda, discussed the challenges they faced throughout the filming process, from the grueling makeup sessions to the emotional weight of their characters’ journeys.
Since it was announced, Cynthia Erivo would be taking the mantle as Elphaba, a role initially made famous by Broadway legend Idina Menzel, and fans have been buzzing with excitement to see the first glimpse of the big-screen adaptation. If you’re like me, the first look and trailer left you absolutely floored, showing off all the incredible makeup and hard work that went into Erivo’s transformation. Clearly, the role is in great hands with the Genius veteran star, who’s sure to blow all our collective striped witch socks off when she belts out “Defying Gravity.” I’m ready for it—bring on the release date!
While the flick technically adapts the stage musical, Wicked is also an adaptation of the original Gregory Maguire novel and will be split into two parts. The first part lands in theaters this November 22nd, with the second part releasing a year later, deep into the 2025 movie schedule.