Cynthia Erivo gives her singing weight through a lowered chin, still hands and a face unused to kindness. We rate her quiet acting just as highly, though her films do not always give it enough room.
Fi1m perspective
In Wicked (2024), Cynthia Erivo keeps her chin down and her hands still, even when she sings. Her Elphaba seems reluctant to let anyone hear what is coming out of her, which gives the voice a force that volume alone would not supply. We rate her most highly when she makes that kind of small, readable choice and leaves it alone. She can make a moment of kindness look unfamiliar without making a display of being hurt. The films around her do not always have her restraint.
Her stage breakthrough was Celie in The Colour Purple, in the 2013 West End production and the 2015 Broadway revival. The move into films brought Widows (2018), directed by Steve McQueen, before the lead in Harriet (2019). As Belle in Widows, alongside Viola Davis, she strengthens a group whose differences make the preparations for a theft worth watching. We believe these people have to learn to work together, and Erivo helps without making the others seem less important. That is a useful quality for an actor who can also carry a musical.
Jon M. Chu gives that quieter acting room in Wicked, though not consistently enough to excuse the film's length. Ariana Grande's restless Galinda makes an effective partner, with her broad physical comedy set against Erivo's reserve. Alice Brooks's camera stays with Erivo and the faces watching her, giving embarrassment time to register. We were moved by her response to Galinda's accidental kindness, because Erivo lets us see how little Elphaba expects it. Her singing matters, but we would not want the close-ups shortened to fit in another number.
Wicked: For Good (2025) asks her to be angry for much of its running time, and she gives the lower notes a new hardness. She sings as though it costs her something, keeping the anger from becoming merely loud. The film is over-long and its plotting interrupts the songs; Erivo and Grande remain the reason to watch, rather than a reason to overlook those faults. Chu gets enough from their faces to make us wish he trusted them more often. Start with Widows for the stronger film; choose Wicked if an over-long musical is an acceptable price for two fine leads.
Biography
Cynthia Erivo is an English actress and singer. Born on 8 January 1987 in Stockwell, London, she trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
She made her West End debut in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (2011) and her Broadway debut as Celie in the 2015 revival of The Color Purple, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. On screen, her roles include Belle in Widows (2018), Darlene Sweet in Bad Times at the El Royale (2018) and Holly Gibney in the miniseries The Outsider (2020). She received an Academy Award nomination for portraying Harriet Tubman in Harriet (2019).
Erivo is known for playing Elphaba in Wicked (2024) and its sequel Wicked: For Good (2025). She has also appeared as Aretha Franklin in the series Genius: Aretha (2021) and voiced characters in animated projects. She was appointed MBE for services to music and drama.
