Cynthia Erivo Hopes to Urge People to Be More Daring | Women in Hollywood | ELLE - video Dailymotion

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Cynthia Erivo, Women in Hollywood honoree, would like to thank Whoopi Goldberg. Watch the "Wicked" actress talk about the first time she saw herself reflected in a character, her efforts to support other women in the industry, and why being at the Oscars with two nominations will never get old.  #CynthiaErivo #Wicked #WomeninHollywood #WIH #ELLE #ELLEWIH

Transcript

00:00I'm Cynthia Erivo, and I'm a woman in Hollywood.

00:02To make it in Hollywood, the best thing I can tell anyone

00:07is to find out who they are.

00:10When you are sure in yourself, those things

00:15that make you who you are don't become burdens.

00:18They become tools.

00:20The Hollywood moment that still amazes me.

00:23I mean, I don't know that there's a bigger Hollywood

00:26moment than being at the Oscars nominated twice.

00:31I think that's never going to grow old.

00:34I think that's as crazy as it gets.

00:37I am championing other women in this industry

00:40by hopefully using my production company, Edith's Daughter,

00:43to create roles that allow other women to flourish.

00:49And that's the hope, to create pieces and teach shows

00:53or films that other women can be in and stretch

00:57their artistic wings, so to speak.

01:00OK, so the first time I saw myself in a character,

01:02it was probably anything I saw Whoopi Goldberg in.

01:05Anything.

01:06So that could have been Jumping Jack Flash, which probably

01:08felt like a very me thing.

01:10Then it was Karina Karina, or it was Sister Act,

01:13or it was The Color Purple.

01:14She just felt like someone I recognized the most.

01:19The first woman that opened the door in the industry for me,

01:22I guess Oprah Winfrey.

01:24I think that was the first person,

01:26because she was the producer of The Color Purple on Broadway.

01:29And that really changed everything for me.

01:31So I think it was her.

01:33She came to the rehearsal space when we were rehearsing.

01:36And that same day, we had sat to do a bit of an interview

01:39with her.

01:40And I just remember she was really, really welcoming.

01:42She was just really loving.

01:44A fellow actress who's been there for me in my career

01:46is Michaela Cole.

01:47I've known her since I was about 16.

01:49And she was the first person to give me a role on television

01:52when nobody was giving young black girls roles on television

01:55in the UK at all.

01:57She created this wonderful gem of a piece called Chewing Gum

02:00and put me in it, gave me an episode.

02:03When other women see me on screen,

02:05I hope they see, I guess, a version or a reflection

02:10of themselves.

02:11Everybody's very individual.

02:12So maybe not necessarily just a reflection,

02:14maybe a possibility so that they can be inspired

02:17to do what makes them tick, what makes them feel whole,

02:21what makes them feel they're most creative.

02:25I hope that when people see me, they also

02:27have the urge to be a little bit more daring.

02:30So I think I'm definitely more daring than most.

Cynthia Erivo Hopes to Urge People to Be More Daring | Women in Hollywood | ELLE

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