It’s hard to watch Wicked, and not be utterly in awe and immersed in the world. This is particularly the case when it comes to one of two leads of the Wicked cast, Cynthia Erivo and her perfectly green skin. No, Elphaba isn’t CGI green. The actress was in the makeup chair everyday when she went to set to transform into the future Wicked Witch. Let’s talk about how it was done.
Why Cynthia Erivo Wanted To Be Green On Set
First, of course the question is, why would the production of Wicked decide to put Erivo through hours of makeup to turn green. Well, as the Elphaba actress actually spoke to in NBC’s Defying Gravity: The Curtain Rises On Wicked documentary, she was actually the one who wanted to do so. Here’s why in her words:
So I knew that if I looked at myself and didn't see the green, I don't think I could have made the connection to Elphaba as much as I did. And something happens when all of that green is on, the freckles go on, and the hair goes on, the makeup goes on, the eyes go on, and it's not me I'm looking at. It's her. But also, something happens when you walk into a room, especially when you have lots of background artists in the room, and the first time they meet you, you're green. Something happens to the DNA in the space.
Becoming green day in and day out allowed Cynthia Erivo to really embody the character of Elphaba for herself and all the actors around her on set. The whole movie itself employed a lot of practical sets, so it certainly would have been a different energy on set if Erivo showed up to Oz looking exactly like herself.
How Elphaba’s Green Makeup Was Created And How Long It Took To Apply
Elphaba’s makeup was achieved by Frances Hannon, who has previously worked on a number of Wes Anderson films along with Marvel movies like X-Men: First Class and Eternals. As she told People in an interview, finding the right shade of green for Cynthia Erivo was a process that involved her and her team creating a custom shade of green makeup on their own.
She started by testing the shades on models with a similar complexion color to Erivo prior to when filming began, because the actress was in America and she was in England. Quickly, she ran into the issue of the shade needing to hold up in a variety of lighting and to be able to stay on the actor’s skin. Jon M. Chu also talked about the process to CinemaBlend in the below video:
The production found a discontinued cream eyeshadow made in Canada with a neon base that helped them get started, but Erivo ended up having a coat of custom-made green primer that was applied with a brush or sponge, along with a shade of makeup being airbrushed on her face and body. The makeup that was airbrushed on was described by Hannon as "slightly less fluid than water.” Erivo’s face was also contoured and freckles were added to give the character a youthful appearance. Erivo also had eyebrows drawn on since she shaves hers.
All and all, that whole process usually took around two hours. And, the removal process? About an hour. According to Hannon, Erivo “never, ever, ever once complained, ever”!
As we wait for the Wicked release date of the upcoming second part of the story, it’s as good a time as any to revisit the first movie which we gave a perfect five stars in CinemaBlend’s Wicked review, and is now a 2025 Oscar winner.
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