‘Wicked’: Cynthia Erivo Deeply Relates to Elphaba’s Differences, Admits She’s ‘An Odd One Out’

Actor Cynthia Erivo can relate to the differences felt by Wicked‘s Elphaba. The Tony, Grammy, and Emmy award winner felt a kinship to her film role by admitting she is “an odd one out” in the same way Elphaba never fit in throughout her life.

In ‘Wicked,’ Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba stands true to herself

As one-half of Wicked‘s female leads alongside Ariana Grande’s Glinda, actor Cynthia Erivo found Elphaba’s differences relatable. The character of Elphaba has suffered prejudice and discriminatory behavior throughout her life due to her green skin. Thus, she aspires always to do good, despite others’ negative opinions of her looks.

While promoting the film on The View, Erivo explained that she found kinship in the role and called herself “an odd one out.”

“When I first saw it [Wicked] I saw something in the character. That feeling of being on the outside, being a bit different. Not fitting in. There was something about it that felt familiar,” Erivo began.

“I felt like it was important to be part of that storytelling,” she continued. “Because I understood it. I think I’ve always felt like I was different. I think I’m a bit of an odd one out, often,” the actor added.

Cynthia Erivo admits her differences set her apart in the entertainment industry

Continuing to share her thoughts with The View panelists, Cynthia Erivo went into detail about how her differences set her apart in the entertainment industry. Erivo admits she’s always stuck out compared to others.

“I walk into the room and particularly in this field of work, I’m different,” she explains. “There aren’t many who look like me. I stick out and I don’t know how to be anything other than that,” the actor continued.

“It’s always difficult to be anything but myself. The space isn’t always there for you. Over time it’s been hard to get here. It’s taken a lot to get here,” she concluded of her journey in the industry thus far.

Erivo starred in The Color Purple on Broadway from 2015 to 2017. She subsequently appeared in numerous television and movie roles, including Harriet, The Outsider, and Genius.

The actor is one award away from EGOT status. Thus far, she has won a Tony Award for her portrayal of The Color Purple‘s Celie in 2016, a Grammy (The Color Purple, 2017), and a Daytime Emmy (Today Show, 2017).

As ‘Wicked’s’ Elphaba, Erivo was painted a special color green

Cynthia Erivo spoke to Elle and described the hours-long process of being painted green every day for the role of Wicked‘s Elphaba. On Broadway, the process is streamlined to a half-hour or less. However, as the film character shows more skin than the stage role, it took anywhere from two to four hours per day to get greenified.

Wicked‘s makeup artists created a special green color for Erivo. It was affectionately named “Cynthia Green” and it was made with the actor in mind.

“Depending on how much green we were doing—head, chest, hands, full body—it could take up to four hours. Everything was particular, right down to my eyebrows,” Erivo explained of the daily process of greenifying.

“[My makeup artist] created a vacuum form so the freckles would stay in the same place every day. I have a million piercings, so they brought in a prosthetic artist, who created basically a shell for my ears—those aren’t my ears,” she admitted.

Wicked makes its theatrical debut beginning Nov. 22, 2024. Wicked, Part 2 will be released on Nov. 21, 2025.