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Cynthia Erivo has made no secret of the input she had into creating the character of Elphaba in Wicked – and that goes right down to the smallest of details.
In a video shared with People before the movie musical’s release last year, Cynthia revealed she wanted to be transformed into the iconic Oz resident using practical makeup rather than CGI, to help her get into character.
She explained: “I had the choice of whether to be green or to have it CGI, and I wanted it to be practical.
“I wanted people to see Elphaba as more than just the green girl. I wanted to look back at her reflection and see a green woman in front of me.”
In a separate interview with TheWrap, director Jon M Chu revealed that it was Cynthia’s idea that Elphaba should have green eyes, to match the rest of her appearance.
“I remember I got a text from you about green eyes,” he told the Oscar nominee. “I was like, ‘green eyes, is that a great idea or a bad idea?’. I don’t know. I don’t know how to respond.”
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Cynthia responded: “I wanted for her to be just a touch more removed from every other human being in that place.
She continued: “I thought, ’well, if we’re talking about green, how far does the green go? Are we talking about just the green skin? Or are we talking about the green [running] through her DNA? So when her nails grow, they grow green.
“Her eye colour is green, because it is a part of her being, it isn’t just the skin colour.”
Cynthia has also spoken about how she helped in the process of putting together her version of Elphaba’s hairstyle, in contrast to how the character has been portrayed on stage in the past.
But she isn’t the only member of the Wicked cast who underwent a change in eye colour for their role.
Around the film’s release, Jonathan Bailey revealed that he also wore blue contacts in the movie – for reasons that will apparently become clear later this year, when the sequel Wicked For Good hits cinemas.