Cynthia Erivo Pushed for Elphaba to Have Micro-Braids in "Wicked "to Make a 'Direct Connection' to Her as a Black Woman

12/17/2024 09:55 PM

The "Defying Gravity" singer is only the second Black woman to portray the iconic character

Cynthia Erivo is opening up about the special nuances she brought to her character in Wicked.

In a new interview with Variety, Erivo, 37, details how Elphaba, whom she portrays in the film, came to wear braids instead of the signature long, dark waves worn by the character in the musical.

"I asked if we could reimagine that hair as micro-braids because I knew you'd still have the movement, and you could still have the length, but there was a texture that was slightly different to what you would normally see on stage," the Grammy winner said.

"It was a direct connection between me as a Black woman and Elphaba as a green lady," Erivo continued.

Elphaba's micro-braids were just one of the ways the singer-actress ensured her character was "connected to the person underneath, me." Another was Elphaba's long nails, which mirrored Erivo's own.

Related: Dax Shepard Asks Cynthia Erivo If Her Talon Nails Get in the Way When 'Wiping' — and She Shuts Him Down Like a Boss

"I was doing the research for this character, and I noticed that the original Wicked Witch had nails," The Color Purple actress said in a video shared exclusively with PEOPLE last month. 

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"I wanted a progression. How she grows as a witch and a woman. Some people wear makeup, I always have my nails done. It's like another extended way of expressing myself," she continued.

According to Variety, Elphaba's nails get darker and longer as her powers grow, something that makeup and hair designer Frances Hannon told the outlet "came from Cynthia."

The Harriet star is only the second Black woman to portray the Wicked Witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz universe, following Alexia Khadime who held the role in the West End production of Wicked from 2008-2010 and later in 2023.

Related: Behind Cynthia Erivo's Spellbinding Wicked Transformation, from Airbrushed Makeup to Stenciled Eyebrows (Exclusive)

Erivo told Varietyin an article published on Nov. 26, that she hopes her portrayal of Elphaba is "a bit of a love letter to everyone who feels different, who feels out of place, to all of the Black women who have walked into rooms and felt like they haven't been welcomed. To anyone who's walked into a room and felt like they haven't been welcomed."

"I am really glad to be the conduit through which this character has been brought to the world," she said at the time.