Cynthia Erivo Revealed Why She Had To Wear Prosthetic Ears For “Wicked”
She also revealed how long it took to get into makeup. (Hint: It took a while.)
Wicked fever is sweeping the nation — and before the movie’s even hit theaters (it arrives next Friday, FYI), Cynthia Erivo is pulling the curtain back on some of the film’s styling secrets.
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In a recent interview with Elle, the actor behind Elphaba revealed how long it took for her to make her full transformation in costume — and the surprising body mods that were necessary to alter her appearance.
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Cynthia says that the shade of green makeup applied to her skin was literally called “Cynthia Green” — and that it usually took a long-ass time to cover her skin with it.
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“Depending on how much green we were doing — head, chest, hands, full body — it could take up to four hours,” she claimed.
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“Everything was particular, right down to my eyebrows,” Cynthia added, stating that her makeup artist also “created a vacuum form so the freckles would stay in the same place every day.”
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Most surprisingly, Cynthia revealed that she also had to have ear prosthetics created for her to fully become Elphaba — and the reason why has to do with Cynthia herself and not the character she played.
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“I have a million piercings, so they brought in a prosthetic artist, who created basically a shell for my ears,” she said. “Those aren’t my ears!”
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Just for comparison’s sake: Here’s Cynthia on the red carpet, with her real ears…
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And here’s a good look at the prosthetic ears she wore on set. (That’s Wicked director Jon M. Chu talking with her while Ariana Grande looks on in the background.)
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