Cynthia Erivo has opened up about the intense physical and mental demands she faced while filming Wicked, revealing that she often managed only two to three hours of sleep a night. During a screening and Q&A session with Kristen Bell at the Ted Mann Theatre in Los Angeles, the 37-year-old actress shared the lengths she went to for her role as Elphaba in the newly released film.
“I think I consciously run towards things that will use me physically, as well as mentally,” Erivo said. “I believe that the body and the mind are intrinsically, truly intrinsically linked. Sometimes the body is the thing that tells the mind what to do, and sometimes the mind is the thing that will tell the body what to do.”
Erivo described a packed schedule that began with a two-hour workout to prepare her body for the film’s demanding flying stunts. “I had never flown before. I just knew I wanted to,” she explained. “That requires your core to be the strongest you could possibly be because the wires will take you from one place to another.” After working out, she spent two hours in the makeup chair to be ready for her 5 a.m. call time.
Her commitment to performing her own stunts was unwavering. “Jo McLaren, my stunt coordinator, was so good with me. She was like, ‘Are you sure you want to do all of this?’ And I said, ‘Yes.’” Erivo detailed the intense focus required for her stunts, including mastering wire work for loops: “When the wires are working to move me from point A to point B to point C, if we’re doing a loop-to-loop, I have to get myself over and round without my legs just falling behind me.”
Erivo admitted to grappling with the toll this lifestyle takes on her. “I’m still torn about whether or not pushing myself for my roles is ‘healthy,’” she confessed. But to manage the demands, she relies on what she calls “self-inflicted” lifestyle choices. “I live a little bit like a monk when I’m doing these things,” she said. “I naturally don’t drink or smoke or eat meat. I’m sorry, I’m very boring, but I am in my house.”
She added, “I’ve learned that an infrared sauna blanket is very helpful with the bruising on the inside. And I’ve learned that a therapist is also really helpful with the bruising on the inside.” Despite her minimal sleep, Erivo makes the most of what she gets. “The two or three hours that I do get, I try to make them good quality.”
