Cynthia Erivo Talks ‘Wicked’ Cast Closeness, Weeping Watching Sequel

The filming of the two Wicked movies sounds like an exhausting, exhilarating and super-intense adventure. It’s been clear watching the cast stump for the just-released sequel, Wicked: For Good, that the actors and actresses in the film got super close and realized they were a part of something that was a cultural event, as well as a life-changing moment for all of them.

“We knew immediately that we were stepping into something that was quite special because it already has this beautiful legacy behind it,” Cynthia Erivo told Seth Meyers on his late night show on Thursday (Nov. 20). After begging off red carpet interviews earlier this week because of a hoarse throat — with co-star Ariana Grande also offering to stay mute in solidarity —  Erivo said the cast and crew knew that the had to do the story “justice” given how beloved the original Broadway production, and the 1995 book it was based on, are to the many fans of the story around the world.

“And it seems like you all genuinely like each other,” Meyers observed. “We do, yeah… no we really like each other,” Erivo said with a wicked, eyes-narrowed look at the camera after Meyers suggested that it might just be good acting, or a combo of that and genuine affection.

Noting that earlier in the week another Wicked: For Good cast member, Jonathan Bailey, told him that he couldn’t stop crying while watching the movie with his niece, Meyers asked how Erivo reacted to seeing part two on the screen. “The first time I watched it… this happens every time — I watched the first movie and I couldn’t see anything. I was really overwhelmed,” Erivo said of last year’s blockbuster first part of the two-part epic movie musical.

“Then I watched it a second time and then I can finally take it in,” she said. “This time around again, I was lie, ‘This is great. I love this.’ But I knew I wasn’t taking it in properly. The second time I saw it, I wept. Like, fell to my knees and wept, couldn’t stop crying.”

Meyers also asked Erivo what it feels like to suddenly be a reliable Halloween meme, posting a series of pics of young girls and women dressed as her green-skinned character Elphaba. He then busted out a much-shared snap of the ultimate tribute: a fan dressed as one of Erivo’s signature long, bedazzled fingernails. Asked if she’d seen the photo, Erivo said it’s been shown to her “100 million times,” and praised the “wonderful person” in the towering costume for their unrelenting commitment to the bit. “I was elated,” she said of her initial reaction to the outfit she said totally nailed it.

Wicked: For Good is in theaters now.

Watch Erivo on Late Night below.