Andres Di Rienzo Cynthia Erivo sat in a make-up chair in a make-up trailer on the set of Wicked. She has her eyes closed and is being painted green by someone who is using an air brush machine. Andres Di Rienzo

In the first film the make-up artists wanted to portray Elphaba’s innocence and in the second they wanted to reflect her power

Two make-up artists who spent three hours transforming Cynthia Erivo into a green Elphaba for the Wicked films said it was a challenge to ensure the make-up looked “natural” on set.

Alice Jones and Olivia Jerrard worked on the movies Wicked and Wicked: For Good, parts of which were filmed in Sky Studios Elstree in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, and Ivinghoe, Buckinghamshire, from December 2022 to January 2024.

Elphaba’s green complexion was made famous by Margaret Hamilton’s portrayal of the Wicked Witch of the West in the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.

Ms Jones, 33, from Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, said: “On the first day she’s [Erivo] on this bright pink set. Everything is pink but Cynthia. I turned to Olivia and said she looks so green… is this too green?”

Getty Images Kristin Chenoweth as Glinda and Idina Menzel as Elphaba look at each other on stage. Glinda is wearing a white jacket and has blonde hair. Elphaba is painted green and is wearing a black outfit and has black hair. Getty Images

Idina Menzel (right) originated the role of Elphaba in the Wicked stage musical which first came to Broadway

During filming, the pair’s day began at 03:00 to arrive on set in time to begin the process of transforming Erivo.

They said the task involved covering up the actor’s tattoos and piercings, then layering and airbrushing different tones of green and painting her body.

With Erivo’s make-up, prosthetics, wig and nails all needing to be applied at the same time, the pair described the process as a game of “twister”.

Ms Jones said: “For part one we wanted Cynthia [Erivo] to have that real kind of bright-eyed innocence.

“For part two, the story itself is much darker. Her character journey, she is in a much darker place, she is also in a more powerful place and she’s more mature.

“All that darkness in the make-up helped reflect her power, darkness and maturity.”

Universal Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande stare into the camera dressed as their Wicked characters Elphaba and Glinda, in a scene from the film Wicked. Elphaba wears a black outfit and black witch's hat and is painted green. While Glinda has blonde hair and wears a pink dress.Universal

From her micro braided wig to her nails, Cynthia Erivo was said to have been heavily involved with the vision for her character

Ms Jerrard, 32, from Marlow, Buckinghamshire, said: “Cynthia [Erivo] has 25 piercings in her ears so they all needed to be concealed for filming… as far as taking them out and putting them back in every day it was too fiddly a process.

“I have applied loads of ears and prosthetics but I have never applied them on top of piercings,” she said.

While the role of Elphaba has been played for decades in the stage production, Ms Jones said Erivo made the character “iconic in her own right”.

She said: “There are things she created for this character that hadn’t been done before like the micro braided wig and the epic nails.”

“On set it can be very serious… there’s a lot at stake for a lot of departments.

“You don’t want to waste time, you don’t want to hold camera up, you don’t want to be holding Cynthia’s performance up,” Ms Jerrard added.

Olivia Jerrard Cynthia Erivo is sitting down in a black make-up chair in a movie trailer. She is scrolling on her phone while having her make-up done and is not facing the camera. Olivia Jerrard on the left is using a make-up brush near Erivo's ear and is dressed all in black while wearing a white face mask. On the right of Erivo is Alice Jones who is using an air brush machine to paint Erivo green.Olivia Jerrard

Olivia Jerrard (left) and Alice Jones (right) said at times the make-up could take up to three hours to complete

Olivia Jerrard A side by side image. On the left is Cynthia Erivo sat in the make-up chair wearing a fluffy black hoodie. She has her eyes closed and prosthetic ears have been applied over her own ears. On the right is Erivo's hand being airbrushed green. In the picture she has long green and black nails.Olivia Jerrard

Olivia Jerrard applied prosthetic ears to Erivo to conceal her ear piercings so they did not have to be taken out for each day of filming

After training as a make-up artist 13 years ago, Ms Jones said she was asked to join the team for Wicked after working with Erivo on an independent film in Greece.

Ms Jerrard said she was doing tests for the munchkin characters when she was asked to work on prosthetics for the film.

Ms Jones said: “The really big Hollywood movies seemed to still be a Hollywood dream. Whereas now, so many of them are filmed around London, we are so lucky that so many [movies] have come across from America.”

Drone footage captures munchkin village created for film version of Wicked

Olivia Jerrard Alice Jones and Olivia Jerrard are sitting next to each other in a tent on set. They are both wrapped up warm in large coats, scarves and hats. They are both looking directly at the camera and are smiling.Olivia Jerrard

Olivia Jerrard (right) said it has been the fans’ reaction to the films and make-up that has been the most rewarding

Ms Jones added: “Ivinghoe was incredible how they transformed this farm into Munchkinland, the Emerald City, Shiz University… Emerald City went up so quickly. One minute it wasn’t there and then it was.

“When we broke for the strikes we hadn’t even shot Defying Gravity… it was really nice to come back after strikes having that to look forward to.”

Ms Gerrard said the fans’ reaction to the film has been rewarding.

She said: “The sacrifice is so big for people who work in film. We sacrifice so many hours, we give so much up… it’s not just that you’re watching a film and getting the recognition for just the art, you get it more for the sacrifice.

“You feel more emotional about that element.”