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00:00One-on-one, take one, mark.
00:02I think just because of how I walk through the world
00:06as a queer black woman, in this skin,
00:10there's sort of an intrinsic knowledge of what that feels like to be the other,
00:15to be not necessarily the norm.
00:19And I think most of my life is having to prove myself when I walk in
00:25and I know that can be deeply frustrating and hard.
00:29I've sort of decided that it's sort of my strong suit.
00:34I don't mind being underestimated because there's something really wonderful
00:38about having to watch people eat their words when you prove them wrong.
00:44And I kind of relish it and I think there's a bit of a joy
00:49in being able to overcome people's preconceived notions
00:56of what you can and cannot do.
00:58Well, so Elphaba wears braids in this
01:01because John and I had a really long conversation
01:05about making sure that we didn't erase what I was,
01:09what Cynthia, me, was underneath the green.
01:13I didn't want to do the traditional version.
01:20I wanted it to be a little bit of a,
01:23it's sort of a wink and a nod and a love story to black women
01:27because that's what I am and it's such a recognizable thing for us
01:33that it was, I don't even think it was a thought for me.
01:37I knew immediately that that's kind of what I wanted to do
01:40when it came to the styling of her.
01:42I think being able to put the hat on, the cape on,
01:48and all of that makes what we know as the Wicked Witch of the West.
01:54I was really proud of it, actually.
01:56I was really proud of that moment because it's an iconic character
01:59in fairy tales, in the lore of Oz,
02:02and for that to be part of now my history, my legacy, felt really special.
02:10From Elphaba to all of the women that I've played,
02:13who I love, by the way, none of these women are by accident.
02:17I am very picky.
02:20I'm very specific about the roles I choose to play.
02:24I'm very particular, and I think the thing that joins,
02:30that's sort of like the invisible thread that links each of these women together,
02:35it's probably their, one, their determination,
02:38but the fact that none of them fit, really.
02:41They don't fit in. None of them fit in.
02:44They're all renegades, I think.
02:46They all are in their own way outside of the norm,
02:50and I think, for me, that's the inspiration.
02:53For me, I think I walk through life knowing that I'm the odd one out.
02:57I think I always have been,
02:59and instead of running away from it, I think I run headlong into it.
03:03I think that, for a long time,
03:06I sort of put my queerness to the back of my brain
03:10and didn't really talk about it, didn't really share it,
03:13but when I started to acknowledge all of me, all of my queerness,
03:19it felt like the light switch was at 100% brightness,
03:23and you just see the world a little bit differently,
03:26and you're not spending as much energy on hiding a part of yourself anymore,
03:30and so that energy that you get to conserve now
03:33gets to be put into the most wonderful things,
03:36and I think it's only going to further enrich the characters I play.
03:40The wonderful thing about Elphaba is that I think so many queer people relate to her
03:45because of her, how different she is,
03:49and how far away from the norm she is,
03:53not just to look at her, but what she is capable of.
03:57To be recognised as a pathbreaker means a great deal.
04:01It means that you veer away from the ordinary path
04:06that is usually set by others, and you can create something of your own.
04:10That's really cool, that a path, hopefully,
04:15is stretching out behind me for other people to walk,
04:19and I'm giving them a different way to walk it, and I love that.
04:23I want to be able to create clear paths for people on their journey.
04:30I'm Cynthia Erivo, and I'm thrilled to accept the honour of Pathbreaker of the Year.
04:40Pathbreaker of the Year