Here’s Why Cynthia Erivo Didn’t Use CGI For Her Green Skin In Wicked

Cynthia Erivo went green for her role of Elphaba in Wicked — and for the actor, CGI just wouldn’t cut it. In a sped-up video of her lengthy on-set makeup process, Erivo explained exactly why she didn’t use special effects for her character’s green skin in the movie.

“I had the choice of whether to be green or to have it CGI, and I wanted it to be practical. I wanted people to see Elphaba as more than just the green girl. I wanted to look back at her reflection and see a green woman in front of me,” Erivo said in a video, shared exclusively with People.

“I really wanted for her skin to feel textured. When you look at it, there’s freckles, and there’s tone, shade, just like skin would be,” Erivo continued. “She has these green eyes that come from the genetic makeup of who she is and it isn’t just on her, it’s in her — part of the essence of who she is.”

But it wasn’t easy for Wicked’s makeup designer Frances Hannon to find the right shade of green that would work in all types of lighting. “I found the green that worked in the skin tone, but I couldn’t make it work in all the different lights,” Hannon told Variety. “Inside, it would look beautiful, but outside, the shade looked gray, and in the sunlight, it might look blue.”

Eventually, Hannon found a discontinued “cream eyeshadow” product that would work. From there, they were able to figure it out. “He [David Stoneman, a makeup manufacturer and developer] took the base out of the little eye shadow, which was a neon yellow — just some drops of it — and added to the green shade. That was the perfect shade. It worked in every light,” Hannon said. “Also, you could put it on very thin and it would stay green.”

“We airbrushed the very fine green on. We contoured and powdered and sealed if we needed to,” Hannon explained. According to her, the process took about two and a half hours in the makeup trailer every day. They also used green makeup to show Elphaba’s progression in the movie. “The strength of her lips, eyes, and nails got darker,” Hannon added.

Erivo paid special attention to her character’s nails, too. “I was doing the research for this character, and I noticed that the original Wicked Witch had nails,” she said in the video for People. “I wanted a progression. How she grows as a witch and a woman. Some people wear makeup, I always have my nails done. It’s like another extended way of expressing myself.”