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Cynthia Erivo Says Shaving Her Head to Play Elphaba in Wicked Felt ‘Open and Vulnerable’; Reveals What She Loved About Her Look
In a recent interview, Cynthia Erivo opened up about her decision to chop off her hair to play Elphaba in Wicked and recalled the time she saw her shaved look for the first time!
Cynthia Erivo recalled the first time she saw her shaved head. The actress, who went bald to play her Oscar-nominated role of Elphaba in Wicked: Part One, shared her experience with the crowd during the Canva Create event at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on April 10.
“I remember feeling so open and vulnerable when there was nothing there,” she said. The moment Erivo looked in the mirror, she thought she’d grow to like the look more over time. The actress revealed that she loved having a “blank canvas” on her head and how it accentuated her other features.
“I like that there’s nothing but my eyes,” she said, adding that she has felt more in her element ever since the big chop. Erivo also shared that she had started to enjoy shorter hair even before landing the Wicked role. Previously, she often wore her hair in braids of various colors.
She recalled growing up with a lot of hair and frequently experimenting with it. However, “something happened” while she was graduating from drama school. She had an epiphany—she wanted people to see her face more clearly.
“I thought, ‘I want to see what it’s like to have short hair,’” she added. The actress wanted to show up as her authentic self at auditions, so she decided to cut her hair short. Erivo also reflected on the iconic wig she wore as Elphaba in the blockbuster 2024 film and her creative collaboration with hairstylist Sim Camps.
“I told her I wanted to have micro braids for this character. She was like, ‘Hold on, wait, I know exactly what to do,’” Erivo recalled. She also revealed that she chooses projects based on the characters more than the overall production.
“I want to know who the character is. It’s often about the person I’m being asked to portray,” she added.
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