During the long production days of the big-screen adaptation of Jon M. Chu’s highly anticipated Tony Award-winning musical ‘Wicked,’ Cynthia Erivo revealed on the Sentimental Men podcast episode on November 15 that she avoided using the restroom for up to 12 to 14 hours. The actress explained that her intricate costume had “too many layers” to maneuver.
Erivo, who plays Elphaba (a.k.a. the Wicked Witch of the West) in the film, detailed the challenging process of wearing her costume and harnesses to film stunts. She revealed that there were “two or three different harnesses for different stunts” which she wore over her corset and costume when needed.
“Those days were really interesting because once you’re in the harness, you don’t want to come out of the harness because it takes forever to get everything prepped again and wires and whatnot,” the Grammy winner said. “Those days can be really big. They can be really exhausting because your body is being put through the strangest things.”
Erivo admitted that she didn’t use the restroom during those shooting days, which often started as early as 7 a.m. or 8 a.m. and continued well into the evening.
“I don’t go to the bathroom,” she shared. “Once I’m in my costume — and this is probably a terrible idea — and the harness is on, I’m not doing it. I’m not dealing with it. There’s too many layers.”
The musical film, starring Erivo and Ariana Grande, is based on the stage musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel.
The two-part work tells the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum’s 1900 children’s book The Wizard of Oz and the 1939 film ‘The Wizard of Oz.’
‘Wicked will’ be released in two parts, with the first part arriving in theaters on November 22.
