Cynthia Erivo is thrilled to see that audiences have been clapping and cheering to her No Good Deed scene in Wicked: For Good.
The musical number, in which Erivo's witch Elphaba sings the angry, powerful song while surrounded by flying monkeys, has been widely lauded as the best scene in Wicked: For Good, often prompting cheers and applause from cinema audiences.
During an interview with Deadline, the British actress admitted the response has been mind-blowing, especially because she was so nervous to shoot such a big number on her own.
"The response to that has shocked even me a little bit. I was always really looking forward to it, but it scared the s**t out of me because it was such a big undertaking, I was on my own, and it's such a big number. So, there was a part of me that was like, 'Am I really going to be able to pull this off? Is this going to feel as connected as I want it to be?'" she shared.
"I was definitely worried about No Good Deed, so to hear people cheer in the theatre once the scene was done was really mind-blowing."
The Harriet star explained that she knew For Good, her emotional ballad with co-star Ariana Grande, would work, but she wasn't so sure about No Good Deed.
"I didn't know how No Good Deed would be because there was no feedback; all I had was (director) Jon (M. Chu), but no one was performing with me to gauge the temperature," she said.
"Not to mention all the technical things that have to go into it that are really complicated. There's memory flashbacks, stunt work, and a massive emotional arc within the song, and to top it off, I'm singing in wires. No Good Deed feels like a culmination of everything I have learned across the two movies in one space."
Erivo jokingly added that the number required "a lot of breathwork" and she really "put (herself) through it that day".
The star is currently nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.
