Cynthia Erivo Is That Girl

Cynthia Erivo’s been busy. In the year following her Oscar-nominated turn as Elphaba in Wicked, she’s released her second studio album, I Forgive You, starred in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Hollywood Bowl, and finished her memoir, Simply More, which will arrive just days before Wicked: For Good’s Nov. 21 premiere — which, of course, will be a lot of work in itself.

Through it all, she recharged the way many people do: with some Dunkin’. That’s the message of her new, Wicked-themed Dunkin’ spot, which sees her reunite with franchise costar Jonathan Bailey (Fiyero). “To come back in this way was quite lovely,” Erivo says of filming the ad, which allowed her to revisit the world of Oz — and to channel Elphaba’s chemistry with Fiyero once again.

The ad sees the actors rehearse a “cut scene” in which the star-crossed lovers reunite with Dunkin’s Wicked Green Matcha, Wicked Pink Refresher, and pink and green Munchkins in a special, matching tin. “Everyone thinks that you’re wicked,” Fiyero says — to which Elphaba replies, “I know. But I’m actually just... hungry.” The pair then shares a passionate almost-kiss — but just before smooching, Elphaba recites a nod to her iconic “Defying Gravity” line: “Let the history books say what they will. I didn’t just fly... I ran on Dunkin’.”

In the world of the ad, production passes on the pair’s idea. Of course, for Erivo, re-teaming with her Wicked partner was reward enough.

“I really love working with him, and I think he loves working with me, and so when we get a chance, there is a connective tissue that’s easy to be in,” Erivo says.

That dynamic will be on full display in For Good. But in the meantime, Erivo opens up about For Good, her Sexiest Man Alive scene partner, and staying grounded through another buzzy press tour.

The spirit of this spot is “Oz runs on Dunkin’.” What besides coffee keeps you going as you prepare for another busy press tour?

It’s the people that I'm surrounded by, the food that I’ve decided to eat, the massages that I’m getting when I land. It is the running that I’m still doing. I literally have a treadmill in my bedroom wherever I am, so I can get on and do my steps and do my run and get that done so that my body is being taken care of. Hydration, hydration, hydration, because we’re on flights a lot. It’s a combination of different things.

In this spot, you and Jonathan embrace a hilarious premise in a really playful way. Did either of you contribute any creative flourishes?

We did, actually. We were sort of riffing and ad-libbing the whole day. Really, the two of us together are quite silly, Jonny and I. We have a good time. Whenever we get a chance to work together, it always sparks fun and joy.

Is there any other genre you’d like to do together? I think fans would love to see you both in a rom-com, for example.

Oh, I’d love to do a rom-com with him! I think both of us are into figuring that out, at some point.

Of course, Jonathan was just named Sexiest Man Alive. As a collaborator, are there moments in your time together that you look at and think... yeah, that makes sense?

I mean, Sexiest Man Alive is one thing — he’s a beautiful man. But aside from him being a beautiful man, he’s really special on the inside. He’s just a kind, generous, brilliant human being whose work ethic is really, really, really concentrated and creative and generous. And it’s great that we’re all celebrating him as a sexy person, but I don’t think that is just because of his looks. It’s because of who he is as a person, and that’s something I would see every day on set, whenever we were working together — just a kind human being who is actually unbelievably talented.

Fans are latching on to a newly released image of Elphaba’s outfit in “As Long As You’re Mine.” People are like, Oh, she stitched this together for a really special night. I was wondering if you’re plugged into that humorous side of the fandom, and what you make of it?

I am plugged in a little bit. I love that everyone is so invested in the little details. Especially if they’re invested in the outfit, I’m happy, because that was one of those things that I wanted for her. I was like, if she’s in her home where she lives, why would she still be in her war outfit? Why wouldn’t she be in something comfortable, the thing that makes her the most vulnerable? I wanted a moment of real softness for her, so it was something that I had talked to [costume designer] Paul [Tazewell] about, to find something that made her really womanly, like that she was there in her space as comfortable as could be. So I’m glad people are clocking all those little details.

Are there other elements you were involved with that fans should look out for?

The outfit at the very end was something that I contributed. And there’s a scene when Glinda and Elphaba finally come together. We wanted it to feel like two friends who hadn’t seen each other for a long time, but feel really real and human.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.