'It felt like a second skin': Cynthia Erivo embraced green make-up for Wicked

Cynthia Erivo felt comfortable going green for 'Wicked'.

The 37-year-old actress plays Elphaba in Jon M. Chu's upcoming movie based on the popular musical of the same name and described how her alter ego's elaborate green make-up soon became a "second skin".

Cynthia told Empire magazine: "It was really comfy! I think, depending on what we were doing for the day, it could take anything from two-and-a-half hours to four-and-a-half (in the make-up chair). It felt like a second skin. I was never irritated by it.

"I think a lot of research went into what shade would be right, what would sit on my skin in the right way and how I could take care of my skin whilst it was in the make-up."

The 'Harriet' star continued: "There was the option to do CGI. I was asked if I wanted to do that, or to do practical, and I knew I wanted to do practical before I even started, because I wanted to be able to look at my hands and see green hands.

"I wanted to look in the mirror and see a green face. I also wanted to see the reactions of other people seeing me as green person, as opposed to me walking in as myself, because it informed how I performed."

Cynthia gained recognition for her acting work on stage and is delighted with the current trend for movie musicals such as 'Joker: Folie a Deux' and 'Wonka'.

She said: "There's something really special about a movie musical. In its essence, it becomes a spectacle, whether you like it or not.

"I think that we don't give audiences enough credit when it comes to musicals, so we pretend that musicals aren't musicals.

"And I think now, it's okay to just be like, 'Hey, this is a musical, come and see it, you'll survive... and you might even like it!'"