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’ Star Jonathan Bailey Recalls Filming Shutdown Due to SAG-AFTRA Strike: ‘It Was Savage’
variety.comMarc Malkin Senior Film Awards, Events & Lifestyle Editor Jon M. Chu’s “Wicked” movies, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, were just 10 days away from wrapping principal photography when most of the production was shut down due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
Jonathan Bailey, who plays Fiyero in the big screen adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, was able to continue some shooting because he’s on an equity contract.
Even so, being notified that filming would be delayed was devastating, Bailey says. “It was savage,” the Brit actor told Variety at the GQ Men of the Year party in Los Angeles. “It’s the way that Cynthia and Ari and Jon Chu are bringing that story to life.
It’s so sort of psychologically rich that I think the idea that Cynthia has got to be held on ice before she manages to finish that huge [‘Defying Gravity].
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