Cynthia Erivo Reveals the Surprising Reason She Wears Prosthetics in Wicked: 'Those Aren't My Ears!'

There was a lot more to Cynthia Erivo's Wicked makeup than just green paint.

In an interview with Elle published on Thursday, Nov. 14, the singer and actress, 37, shared the behind-the-scenes details of her getting-ready process on the set of the highly anticipated film. In addition to massive amounts of green makeup to transform into her character of Elphaba, Erivo also wore prosthetic ears for the role.

"I have a million piercings, so they brought in a prosthetic artist, who created basically a shell for my ears," she told the outlet. "Those aren’t my ears!"

The Broadway star also shared that the shade of green makeup used in the film was custom-made for her.

"It was literally 'Cynthia Green,'" Erivo said. "Depending on how much green we were doing — head, chest, hands, full body — it could take up to four hours."

"Everything was particular, right down to my eyebrows," she further explained of the meticulous makeup process. "[My makeup artist] created a vacuum form so the freckles would stay in the same place every day."

Erivo also pulled back the curtain on the physical demands of the musical role.

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"I was up at six o’clock in the morning on my treadmill training," she recalled. "I would run and sing on the treadmill. I was always making sure that my body was ready. I needed to get my body used to being on wires [for the flight scenes]. There’s a thrill that I got from it. I enjoyed the powerfulness of being able to get on a wire and be flipped upside down. It’s not going to go right the first time —maybe the second or third—and that’s okay."

Throughout the Wicked press tour, Erivo and her costar Ariana Grande are fully leaning into method dressing according to their characters. Grande, who plays Glinda, has embraced all things pink and iridescent, in line with Glinda's signature feminine style.

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Erivo has donned her fair share of witchy ensembles as well. At the Mexico City premiere on Nov. 11, the star turned heads in a Thom Browne column dress that featured long sleeves and theatrical hands at the shoulders. The hooded top also buttoned down the front for even more drama.