Cynthia Erivo was flying high, defying the societal norms of airplane culture, when she openly wept after finding out about her Best Actress nomination. While en route to Sundance, where Erivo is being honored with the festival’s Visionary Award, she caught the eye of the flight attendant onboard who brought her tissues. “It’s fine,” Erivo said jokingly, “I’ve got happy tears.”There’s much to celebrate in the land of Oz and Hollywood as Wicked soared its way to 10 total nominations, one of them including a Best Supporting Actress for co-star Ariana Grande. “I don’t know how to tackle this. The whole thing is madness and amazing. This is the most wonderful thing to have gone through and to experience. I’m just really pleased, it’s so cool.”
Wicked, directed by Jon M. Chu follows the story of Elphaba (Erivo), a young woman misunderstood because of her unusual green skin and tremendous ability of magic power. Gilded by privilege and cunning, Glinda (Grande) is a popular young woman who desires to wield magic. When the two meet as students at Shiz University in Oz it spawns a rivalry that turns into a profound friendship.
Since the film’s release in November, Wicked has amassed $709.9 million globally making it the highest grossing movie musical. And now with the highly anticipated sequel Wicked: For Good on the way for a similar November release, it’s clear there’s more fun, toil and trouble in store for audiences. Producer Marc Platt, who was also nominated in the Best Picture category for Wicked, told Deadline about what he thinks contributes to the film’s continued popularity. “The film transports you to a place and takes some characters who are familiar to audiences on unexpected journeys. They laugh, cry and find joy and sadness in this story because they are stirred by these characters that are aspirational and optimistic,” he said. “To see strong, complicated women on screen alongside a story of having the courage when you’re different to understand yourself and to find your truth and then speak truth to power, that’s incredible.”
Platt also continued that Wicked’s success lies in the incredible teamwork from in front of and behind the camera. “You have two wonderful actresses, who play two women who couldn’t be more different from each other and they learn to love each other and find commonality and human connection. When you have [those themes in mind] and a vision of Jon M. Chu and the performances that Ariana and Cynthia give and the beautiful craftsmanship that has been recognized, it turns into this pop culture thing that elevates itself and becomes very meaningful to people. It’s been very gratifying to see how audiences really embraced this film and held on to it.”
Here, Erivo talks to Deadline about her Oscar nomination, upcoming projects and what to expect from her upcoming song in Wicked: For Good
DEADLINE: If you win, this will solidify your EGOT status. How does one process that?
CYNTHIA ERIVO: I don’t really know how to process this [laughs]. The whole thing is madness and amazing. But I don’t know, this is just the most wonderful thing to have gone through and to experience. I’m so glad for it. I’m really pleased. It’s really cool.
DEADLINE: It feels like these last two years have really been the year of Cynthia Erivo. It seems you can’t pick up a newspaper, come across an online article or turn on the radio without either hearing about a new project or about Wicked. What’s going through your mind?
ERIVO: I’m feeling really good. I’m feeling like my feet are on the ground. I have amazing people around me. There’s not a chance I would be able to do this if I didn’t have the team that I have, the friends that I have. I feel very, very grateful. It feels like the last few years kind of were like the works where you sow everything, you put the seeds in and you water them, you get everything done and then everything is sort of bearing fruit now and it’s really special. I’m so happy
DEADLINE: You’ve carved out your own space not only as being Elphaba, but also by transcending this character into a safe space for LGBTQ+ people and being a symbol for inspiration for Black women and young girls. What does it mean for you to be recognized like this?
ERIVO: I honestly haven’t processed it. When you start to learn about what any of this means in the big picture, I’m just so grateful to be a person that can be looked at to do those things. I’m aware of the responsibility that brings. So I will take care of that responsibility and hopefully rise to the occasion. But it’s really touching, it’s really meaningful to be able to do that and to be a voice for several types of people, all of which I am a part of. It’s the pinnacle of cool.
DEADLINE: In your Oscar statement on Instagram today, you mentioned that you had nothing to say to your younger self, because she was happy. But I’m wondering do you at least remember that younger version of yourself that solidified your decision to stay in this industry?
ERIVO:I was always determined and very curious. So I was always trying whatever I needed to try to do. If it was finding an after school extracurricular activity, I would find it. If it was doing open mic nights, then I would be doing open mic nights. If it was singing backing vocals, then it was singing backing vocals. I didn’t have a blueprint. There is no other person in my family that does anything like this but me. So I had to figure it out. But I was determined and sometimes you can find yourself getting lost because you don’t know which direction to go and then all of a sudden you bump into a mentor who can say, “Hey, you should go to drama school.” And then you go to drama school and when you leave drama school and you meet someone else who says, “Oh, you can come and do this small production here.” And everything has led to everything and all those small moments have accumulated into this and I’m really glad I stuck with it.
DEADLINE: What can you share about this original song you co-wrote with Stephen Schwartz for Wicked:For Good? Is it a song of yearning, friendship, passion or something else?
ERIVO: I would say it’s a song of passion. It’s a song about a passion of something. Yearning and passion, yes. I think that’s what it is.
DEADLINE: Congrats on your upcoming episode of Poker Face Season 2. What would you like people to know?
ERIVO: My episode is absolutely unhinged. It’s absolutely unhinged and it’s nothing like I’ve ever done before and I’m really proud of it. It was so much fun to do, but it’s crazy.
DEADLINE: The recent cast announcement of the Children of Blood and Bone just dropped. What are you excited about?
ERIVO:I’m very excited. It’s the first time I get to work with you and Gina Prince-Bythewood. I love the character that I’m playing. I never do things twice, so this is not a woman you’ve seen me play before. I’m so excited.
The 97th Oscars ceremony, hosted by Conan O’Brien, will take place March 2 at 4 p.m. PT/ 7 p.m. ET at the Dolby Theatre.
