Cynthia Erivo is opening up about her experience playing multiple characters for an episode of Poker Face.
During a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the Oscar-nominated actress admitted she felt “totally insane” when “we were doing four of the characters” in a single scene for season two of creator Rian Johnson’s crime comedy-drama series.
In total, the Wicked star plays five sisters in an episode of the upcoming season, which she knew was going to be a challenge going into filming but one she was happy to take on.
“I knew that my head would be split into many different spaces, but I was like, ‘Well, if not now, then when?’” Erivo explained. “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 compartmentalize and play different characters all at once, to challenge myself to see if it was possible.”
The Harriet actress noted she used each character’s costumes, wigs and accents to help determine their individual personalities. However, she still felt “crazy” at times being her own scene partner.
“I’d play one side, and I’d have a lovely stand-in doing the other side,” Erivo said. “I would still have to remember what I did on one side so that my reaction would match the other way, so that it would make sense when speaking to each other.”
Poker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne, follows her character Charlie Cale, a woman with an uncanny ability to detect lies, who solves crimes while traveling the country. Season two premieres on Peacock May 8.
Erivo also revealed to Vanity Fair that she shot the episode while in the middle of her busy Wicked press tour with Ariana Grande, making it even more difficult.
“We were in the midst of everything, doing everything, going everywhere,” the actress-singer recalled. “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,” she added. “But in the best possible way.”
