'Mentally Exhausted Is An Understatement.' Cynthia Erivo Filmed Poker Face While Doing Wicked Press, And It Was Not For The Faint Of Heart

If you’ve kept up with the wild, wonderful world of the Hollywood version of Wicked, you may know some of the ins and outs of the cast's commitment. Unsurprisingly, Bowen Yang’s regular commute between NYC and London and Jonathan Bailey’s commitment to learning his choreography on his days off from Bridgerton aren’t the only highlights of extra hours clocked for Wicked. Cynthia Erivo’s noteworthy overtime came during her stint for Poker Face Season 2 and the press tour for the movie, and it sounds intense.

While Wicked: For Good premieres near the end of the 2025 movie schedule, Erivo caught up with Vanity Fair to talk all things Poker Face S2. The sophomore installment of the Rian Johnson-directed series features her playing five different characters in an episode (the new season premieres May 8 and is available with a Peacock subscription). During the conversation, she shared that her time with the comedy-thriller happened to fall during Wicked’s initial promotional tour, and it left her feeling exhausted. Erivo even recalled that, on the days she was filming multiple characters, it left her feeling even more so, saying:

I can’t even begin to imagine the hours the Harriet alum must have added to her days between the two, let alone the content that filled those hours. Although, admittedly, her role sounds thrilling for the Natasha Lyonne show, and I can understand why she stepped into doing both. I’m sure the appearance will be stellar. Personally, I hope it’ll resemble Ewan McGregor’s Fargo season. Still, those 11 days must have been otherworldly jumping between plugging Wicked and working on the series from the Knives Out director.

Erivo then went on to say cheerily that it was as chaotic as she describes it, but well worth it:

I’m glad that she’s through her version of the multiverse and has lived to tell the tale. The Broadway star’s cameo has me inspired to go watch Poker Face Season 1 before May. If she wasn’t reason enough to get caught up, there are plenty of celebs making an appearance on Poker Face S2, like Katie Holmes and Kumail Nanjiani, who maybe just sealed the deal for this future watcher. I’m sure all of these arcs will have the signature Johnson vibe to fit perfectly into his mysterious worlds, including Erivo’s.

As we get closer to Chu’s second half of the Broadway-turned-movie (the Wicked: For Good poster dropped recently), let’s all hope the cast can have a shred of normalcy to the hours they keep. Although we all know better at this point, it’s highly unlikely for Erivo and company. You can stream Wicked (Pt. 1) with an active Peacock account, and keep an eye out for her on the same platform when Poker Face premieres in May.