EP100 Pathbreaker of the Year: Cynthia Erivo

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00:00One-on-one, take one, mark.

00:02I think just because of how I walk through the world

00:06as a queer black woman, in this skin,

00:10there's sort of an intrinsic knowledge of what that feels like to be the other,

00:15to be not necessarily the norm.

00:19And I think most of my life is having to prove myself when I walk in

00:25and I know that can be deeply frustrating and hard.

00:29I've sort of decided that it's sort of my strong suit.

00:34I don't mind being underestimated because there's something really wonderful

00:38about having to watch people eat their words when you prove them wrong.

00:44And I kind of relish it and I think there's a bit of a joy

00:49in being able to overcome people's preconceived notions

00:56of what you can and cannot do.

00:58Well, so Elphaba wears braids in this

01:01because John and I had a really long conversation

01:05about making sure that we didn't erase what I was,

01:09what Cynthia, me, was underneath the green.

01:13I didn't want to do the traditional version.

01:20I wanted it to be a little bit of a,

01:23it's sort of a wink and a nod and a love story to black women

01:27because that's what I am and it's such a recognizable thing for us

01:33that it was, I don't even think it was a thought for me.

01:37I knew immediately that that's kind of what I wanted to do

01:40when it came to the styling of her.

01:42I think being able to put the hat on, the cape on,

01:48and all of that makes what we know as the Wicked Witch of the West.

01:54I was really proud of it, actually.

01:56I was really proud of that moment because it's an iconic character

01:59in fairy tales, in the lore of Oz,

02:02and for that to be part of now my history, my legacy, felt really special.

02:10From Elphaba to all of the women that I've played,

02:13who I love, by the way, none of these women are by accident.

02:17I am very picky.

02:20I'm very specific about the roles I choose to play.

02:24I'm very particular, and I think the thing that joins,

02:30that's sort of like the invisible thread that links each of these women together,

02:35it's probably their, one, their determination,

02:38but the fact that none of them fit, really.

02:41They don't fit in. None of them fit in.

02:44They're all renegades, I think.

02:46They all are in their own way outside of the norm,

02:50and I think, for me, that's the inspiration.

02:53For me, I think I walk through life knowing that I'm the odd one out.

02:57I think I always have been,

02:59and instead of running away from it, I think I run headlong into it.

03:03I think that, for a long time,

03:06I sort of put my queerness to the back of my brain

03:10and didn't really talk about it, didn't really share it,

03:13but when I started to acknowledge all of me, all of my queerness,

03:19it felt like the light switch was at 100% brightness,

03:23and you just see the world a little bit differently,

03:26and you're not spending as much energy on hiding a part of yourself anymore,

03:30and so that energy that you get to conserve now

03:33gets to be put into the most wonderful things,

03:36and I think it's only going to further enrich the characters I play.

03:40The wonderful thing about Elphaba is that I think so many queer people relate to her

03:45because of her, how different she is,

03:49and how far away from the norm she is,

03:53not just to look at her, but what she is capable of.

03:57To be recognised as a pathbreaker means a great deal.

04:01It means that you veer away from the ordinary path

04:06that is usually set by others, and you can create something of your own.

04:10That's really cool, that a path, hopefully,

04:15is stretching out behind me for other people to walk,

04:19and I'm giving them a different way to walk it, and I love that.

04:23I want to be able to create clear paths for people on their journey.

04:30I'm Cynthia Erivo, and I'm thrilled to accept the honour of Pathbreaker of the Year.

04:40Pathbreaker of the Year

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