Cynthia Onyedinmanasu Chinasaokwu Erivo (born 8 January 1987) is an English actress, singer, and songwriter.
She is known for her performance as Celie in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple, for which she won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical, the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, and the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program, the latter two she shared with the rest of the cast.
Erivo ventured into films in 2018, with roles in the heist film Widows and the thriller Bad Times at the El Royale. In 2019, she portrayed abolitionist Harriet Tubman in the biopic Harriet, for which she earned nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
'Wicked' Director Talks Casting Ariana Grande, Reveals Extra Role She Played in Creating Movie
justjared.comWicked director Jon M. Chu opened up about casting Ariana Grande as Glinda and the important skill that she brought to the movies.
The 30-year-old pop star is set to share the screen with Cynthia Erivo in the two-part saga, which kicks off with Part One on Thanksgiving this year.
During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Jon reflected on casting concerns for the film adaptation and what it meant for him to find Ariana and Cynthia. Keep reading to find out more… “When you find those two, you know it’s destiny,” Jon said, adding that they had developed “a spiritual connection.” “We’ve gone through so many journeys together,” he explained, alluding to both personal and professional examples. “That’s why it had that impact on me.” Jon also addressed another skill that Ariana brought to the set – her expansive knowledge of the source material.
He said that came in handy as the cast and crew tried to determine what parts of the musical could be cut for run time. “Ari is an aficionado on Wicked,” he gushed, adding that she’d describe certain lines as “bible” and untouchable.
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