Cynthia Erivo was all ears when it came to ways she could commit to her role in Wicked . The Tony Award winner—who portrays Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande ’s Glinda the Good Witch in the film adaptation of the Broadway show—is known for her intricate nail art and elaborate ear piercings, but the movie musical called for the actress to make some temporary changes to her style. “Because my ears are covered in piercings,” Cynthia told her mom in a Nov.
7 behind-the-scenes video shared to the film’s official Instagram, “instead of taking out all the piercings, we put prosthetic over it so that it covers up my ear. So my ear is underneath the [prosthetic] ear.” And Cynthia was quick to calm her mom’s worries, saying, “It won’t hurt me when I take it off.
” But the fake ears aren’t the only change Cynthia—who also stars alongside Jonathan Bailey , Michelle Yeoh and Ethan Slater in the film—underwent to play Elphaba. The 37-year-old also wore full-body green makeup. “It was really comfy!” she told Empire in an interview published Nov.
7. “Depending on what we were doing for the day, it could take anything from two-and-a-half hours to four-and-a-half hours [in the make-up chair]. It felt like a second skin.
I was never irritated by it.” “A lot of research went into what shade would be right,” she continued, “what would sit on my skin in the right way and how I could take care of my skin whilst it was in the makeup.” And while comfort was i.