Cynthia Erivo makes rare comments on shooting ‘Wicked’ with Ariana Grande

Cynthia Erivo revealed how she formed a close-knit friendship with Ariana Grande on the set of Wicked.

The actress, 37, who was featured on Elle’s 2024 Women In Hollywood cover, spoke of the Side to Side songstress with the highest regard.

Erivo said, “I’ve gained a sister. At this point, we speak almost every day. Both of us were blown away by how connected we were immediately.”

Looking back at the first time they met, she shared, “I remember the first day we got to come together. It was at [director] Jon M. Chu’s house, and Stephen Schwartz [who wrote Wicked’s music and lyrics] was over.”

“He played some songs for us, and we sang together for the first time. It worked. It’s a very intimate thing to sing with someone. There’s a really beautiful dance—I need to follow you, you have to follow me.”

She also revealed that the co-stars share an off-screen relationship, “We also had a beautiful relationship offscreen. We had really beautiful conversations, some that were not easy, but that’s what makes relationships.”

“Those hard conversations that you can have with someone that mean that you have to be vulnerable are the things that make you close.”

This comes after the Harriet actress and Grande have repeatedly spoken of their quickly formed, deeply connected bond in various interviews.

During an interview with the New York Times, the actors shared that they often spend their days off together staying over at each other's house, go shopping together and even get tattoos.

The upcoming two-part motion picture that stars the two friends is set to hit the theatres on November 22nd, 2024 and November 26th, 2025, for Wicked: Part One, and Wicked: Part Two, respectively.