Cynthia Erivo has revealed how she was made green to play Elphaba in the long-awaited musical adaptation of Wicked.
Opening up about the intense transformation she had to undergo each day for the role, the actress, 37, explained it could take up to four hours to cover her in paint as she admitted no CGI was used.
Starring in a new NBC programme тιтled Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises on Wicked, the one hour special went behind the scenes and followed Cynthia and her co-stars Ariana Grande and Jonathan Bailey, as well as Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Yeoh as they filmed the highly anticipated musical.
In one segment Cynthia shared behind the scenes sH๏τs from her phone of her sitting in the makeup chair as she was hand painted green.
The star explained: ‘When you put the costume on, when you put the shoes on and we’re supported by all these artists, it just takes it to the next level.’
Bridgerton star Jonathan, who plays Fiyero in the film, joked: ‘You were actually green every day.’
Cynthia Erivo has revealed just how she was made green to play Wicked’s Elphaba in behind the scene sH๏τs from a new NBC special
Opening up about the intense transformation, the actress, 37, explained it could take up to four hours to cover her in paint as she admitted no CGI was used
Cynthia added: ‘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 in 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.
‘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.’
Jonathan added: ‘I agree, the energy shifts.’
Meanwhile lead hair and makeup artist for the film Frances Hannon, revealed in an interview with Elle magazine just how important it was for the green to look authentic.
She explained: ‘ It was very important that the green be real-looking. They did discuss possibly doing the green in post-production in the very early days, but Cynthia was quite adamant that she wanted to go onto the set green every day.’
Revealing just how long it took in an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers on Monday, Cynthia confesses it would take as long as four hours to greenify her.
She told the host: ‘It really depended on how much green we were using. So if it was just hands, head, neck it would be two hours 45 minutes to three hours.
Cynthia’s Elphaba look was completed with freckles and prosthetic ears
The transformation could take up to four hours 45 minutes depending on how much of Cynthia’s body needed to be covered
She added: ‘If I looked at myself and didn’t see the green I don’t think I could have made the connection to her’
Even her hands were completely covered in the paint for the role
