Cynthia Erivo pulled back the curtain on the challenges of filming Jon M. Chu’s highly anticipated adaptation of Wicked.
During a November 15 appearance on the Sentimental Men podcast, the 37-year-old Oscar nominee revealed she often went up to 12 to 14 hours without using the bathroom during long production days.
Erivo, who stars as the film’s titular Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba, recalled the physically demanding process of getting into costume and harnesses for the film’s intricate stunt sequences. “There were two or three different harnesses for different stunts,” she explained, noting that they were worn over her corset and costume.
“Those days were really interesting because once you’re in the harness, you don’t want to come out of the harness because it takes forever to get everything prepped again — the wires and whatnot,” Erivo shared. “Those days can be really big. They can be really exhausting because your body is being put through the strangest things.”
To avoid the lengthy process of getting in and out of costume, Erivo opted to skip restroom breaks altogether, even on shooting days that began at 7 or 8 am and stretched well into the evening.
“I don’t go to the bathroom,” she admitted. “Once I’m in my costume - and this is probably a terrible idea - and the harness is on, I’m not doing it. I’m not dealing with it. There’s too many layers.” She added with a shrug, “It is what it is.”
Even when crew members offered her the chance to step away, Erivo declined. “No, I don’t need the bathroom,” she recalled telling them. “Let’s go. Let’s go. We’re in it.”
The highly anticipated Wicked movie musical, starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda, brings Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s iconic stage production to the big screen. The musical, in turn, is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel, which reimagines the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its legendary 1939 film adaptation.
Split into two parts, the film delves into Elphaba’s life as a gifted young woman at Shiz University, where she meets Glinda, her eventual roommate and unlikely friend. The two navigate their bond until a brewing evil forces them apart, setting the stage for the story audiences have cherished for generations.
With its first installment set to hit theaters on November 22, Wicked promises to deliver a deeper dive into the origins of Oz’s most iconic characters.
