Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has spoken about her upcoming roles in Poker Face, describing them as “totally insane”.
The actor has joined the cast for the second season of Rian Johnson’s crime comedy-drama, which follows casino worker Charlie Cale (Natasha Lyonne) as she solves crimes using her innate ability to detect when lies are told.
With the latest batch of episodes set to premiere later this year, Erivo spoke to Vanity Fair about her role in the season premiere, which sees her take on the peculiar challenge of playing five different characters - all of whom are sisters!
“I knew that my head would be split into many different spaces, but I was like, ‘Well, if not now, then when?’” said the actor in reference to her five roles. “I’m always open to trying things that I haven’t done before, and I wanted to do this.
“I wanted to figure out what it would be like to compartmentalise and play different characters all at once, to challenge myself to see if it was possible. On a day when we were doing four of the characters: insane. Totally insane.
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“We were in the midst of [the press tour for Wicked] doing everything, going everywhere. I had 11 straight days of shooting this baby in New York… To say I was mentally exhausted is an understatement.
“I would get to the end of the day and not even really even know my own name. I’d be like, ‘I don’t know where I am. It was absolutely manic, but in the best possible way,” added the star, who has also appeared in Harriet and Widows.
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Whilst Erivo shared that being her own scene partner posed some challenges, the actor and singer said that acting alongside Lyonne was a comparative breeze, recalling: “I loved it. It was so easy. We had such a fun rapport.”
Poker Face season 2 premieres on Peacock on May 8.
Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.
