Cynthia Erivo has admitted she and Ariana Grande went through a series of ‘hard’ and ‘vulnerable’ conversations before they started working together in Wicked.
The actress, 37, who is starring as Elphaba in the upcoming musical movie, looked incredible as Elle’s 2024 Women In Hollywood cover star.
Within the shoot, Cynthia spoke of her and Ariana’s, 31, who stars as Glinda, blossoming friendship, admitting she’s ‘gained a sister’, thanks to Wicked.
She said: ‘I’ve gained a sister. At this point, we speak almost every day. Both of us were blown away by how connected we were immediately.
‘I remember the first day we got to come together. It was at [director] Jon M. Chu’s house, and Stephen Schwartz [who wrote Wicked’s music and lyrics for both the OG Broadway musical and the film] was over.
‘He played some songs for us, and we sang together for the first time. It worked. It’s a very intimate thing to sing with someone. There’s a really beautiful dance—I need to follow you, you have to follow me.
Cynthia Erivo, 37, has admitted she and Ariana Grande, 31, went through a series of ‘hard’ and ‘vulnerable’ conversations before they started working together in Wicked
The actress, who is starring as Elphaba in the upcoming musical movie, looked incredible as Elle’s 2024 Women In Hollywood cover star
Within the shoot, Cynthia spoke of her and Ariana’s blossoming friendship, admitting she’s ‘gained a sister’, thanks to Wicked
‘It was one of the most gratifying things to know that there was someone who was that open and available, because she was, and that meant I could be as well.
‘We also had a beautiful relationship offscreen. We had really beautiful conversations, some that were not easy, but that’s what makes relationships.
‘Those hard conversations that you can have with someone that mean that you have to be vulnerable are the things that make you close.’
As well as Cynthia, Danielle ᴅᴇᴀᴅwyler, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Mikey Madison, Demi Moore, Julianne Moore, Saoirse Ronan, Zoe Saldaña and Tilda Swinton were the honorees of Elle’s 2024 Women In Hollywood.
Speaking about her role as Elphaba and if she’d change anything about the movie, she said: ‘Why would that change for the film? I couldn’t even dream about wanting it.
‘When you’re in this skin and you walk around, you are immediately an “other”.
‘It was a really wonderful experience to be able to step into this role, outside of my own skin, and into someone else’s, who has also been “othered”.
‘It’s important to know what it feels like. I hope that this shifts and changes things across stages.’
She said: ‘I’ve gained a sister. At this point, we speak almost every day. Both of us were blown away by how connected we were immediately’
‘We also had a beautiful relationship offscreen. We had really beautiful conversations, some that were not easy, but that’s what makes relationships’
The 2024 honorees grace the December 2024/January 2025 covers of ELLE
Back in 2021, Ariana and Cynthia were casted to star in Wicked as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, and quickly formed a close-knit bond.
During an interview with the New York Times, they said they would frequently spend their days off together — staying in at each other’s homes, go shopping together and even getting tattoos.
On their connection and friendship, Ariana told the outlet: ‘I think that was one of my most cherished parts of this experience: I felt held and like I had a friend every step of the way.’
‘I’m really proud of us for how genuinely we took care of each other throughout this whole time,’ she added.
Ariana also said Cynthia ‘really inspired’ her as she gushed about working alongside her.
‘I feel really inspired by her fierce ability to be truthful and protect herself,’ she said.
‘Just by being around her, I have become more of an ally to myself when I used to do a lot of self-abandoning, and I really do credit that to our friendship.’
Cynthia shared that she had similar feelings towards Ariana and explained that their friendship helped her believe in herself.
‘Those hard conversations that you can have with someone that mean that you have to be vulnerable are the things that make you close’, she added
Back in 2021, Ariana and Cynthia were casted to star in Wicked as Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, and quickly formed a close-knit bond
‘I don’t think it was up until I met her that I was like, “Oh, I think I can have what I want in this lifetime, and I can have it in my way. She’s really held my hand all the way through it and wants it for me just as much as I want for myself.’
The upcoming two-part feature is adapted from the long-running Broadway musical and is a sequel to The Wizard of Oz.
The Wicked cast also includes Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Peter Dinklage, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle and Marissa Bode.
The motion picture is slated to arrive in theaters with release dates of November 22, 2024 for Wicked: Part One, and November 26, 2025 for Wicked: Part Two.
