Cynthia Erivo feels like an outsider because she doesn't "fit in"

She told the Guardian newspaper: "I think I was surprised by how connected I felt to Elphaba. Surface, we're different: I walk into the room, I'm bald-headed, I've got no eyebrows, I've got nails, I've got piercings, I've got tattoos, for me that's my everyday normal but a passerby might think: 'What is happening here?'

"But as you peel away those layers, yes, I understand what it feels like to be set apart from everybody else, and not fit in; yes, I understand what it feels like to be a kid whose father doesn't care; yes, I understand what it's like to feel alone when you're in a room full of people who don't know where you're coming from or why you're so tired, or why you do things your way.

"Me and Elphaba had that same journey, trying to fit, and it doesn't work. Your only choice is to be who you are."

In the interview, Cynthia went on to explain her "tough" journey from stardom as she didn't come from an "acting family" and struggled through her acting course at famous school RADA because she was juggling jobs to pay the bills.

She added: "I've never really talked about this before. I've never really talked about how tough my journey has been.

"I think I'm just so grateful, and you take the good with the bad. Learning what I needed to learn at RADA meant that I could learn what I needed to learn in theatre, and learning what I learned in theatre meant I knew what to do on Broadway, and that's set me up for TV and film."