Cynthia Erivo, reflecting on her latest project while resting in west London, finds solace in simple comforts like the ridged crisps brand Ruffles. Between her busy schedule of concerts and high-profile fashion appearances, the actor maintains a disciplined lifestyle, which includes using an infrared sauna designed to help her heal from the inside. Her recent work history is intense; earlier this year, she completed the London Marathon while simultaneously performing in a production of Dracula, where she portrayed all 23 characters, rehearsing lines throughout her rigorous marathon training. The ridged American brand Ruffles, as we sit talking in a quiet corner of a west London restaurant, c ynthia Erivo is contemplating her favourite crisps. She is known for her healthy lifestyle, but everyone, it seems, has their vices. “Ruffles are just perfect,” she says. “When you get a good batch, and the salt-to-potato ratio is perfect … it’s amazing.”, dressed all in black and sporting her signature elongated nails. Erivo has just touched down after singing in Phoenix, Arizona, the night before, and has been running me through the health routine that helps her maintain her frantic schedule. There was the Dior front row at Paris fashion week, and she has just been announced as a guest host on SNL UK, before her concert. Where she played all 23 parts; she had rehearsed her lines while going on gruelling marathon training runs, earlier this year she ran the London Marathon before jumping on stage to perform Dracula. All that requires discipline – and snacks – to keep the show on the road. Erivo bristles when I ask if she was hesitant about picking up a role so associated with someone else. “I get asked that question a lot,” she says. But you’ve not picked up a Shakespeare before, you now have to learn a new language, if you’re a kid who is just really talented. Now you have to understand what anything means with the Greeks, if you’ve never read a Greek before.
Currently, Erivo is focusing on her role in the film adaptation of Prima Facie, a legal drama centered on sexual assault. The project, based on Suzie Miller’s one-woman play, previously gained significant attention when Jodie Comer starred in the role in 2022. Addressing any suggestions of hesitation regarding a part previously performed by another actor, Erivo asserts that she focuses on making the role of the barrister Tessa entirely her own. She and Comer discussed the project at a fashion event, but Erivo maintains her focus on providing an original, respectful interpretation of the character. Only her own prepacked meals, erivo doesn’t drink alcohol (today she orders some peppermint tea); she’s vegan; she doesn’t eat airline food. According to tessa,, Erivo, doesn’t see how hard it is for anyone to recall traumatic events in detail, or how lopsided the system is, until it’s swallowing her whole. “I don’t think she realises that until she’s on the other side.
The film follows Tessa, a highly successful barrister who specializes in defending men accused of sexual violence.
In the courtroom, Tessa is skilled at dismantling the credibility of complainants by highlighting inconsistencies, which often renders securing a conviction beyond reasonable doubt nearly impossible. Tessa knows how to dance around the courtroom – and the victim – raising inconsistencies that mean convicting a man “beyond reasonable doubt” becomes almost impossible.
However, after Tessa is sexually assaulted by a colleague, she experiences the harsh reality of the legal system firsthand. According to Rape Crisis, women face a one in four chance of sexual assault, yet only 2.7% of reported cases result in convictions. Miller, a former barrister, notes that the inspiration for the play stemmed from her realization that winning a sexual assault case is remarkably difficult.
Erivo hopes the film fosters deeper discussions about consent within the legal system. She observes that while judges and lawyers have been included in viewings, society remains ambiguous regarding the definition of consent, which she believes should be far more straightforward. During the filming, she emphasized that if an individual is not conscious, they are not providing consent. She aims for the film to spark necessary conversations that extend beyond personal interactions and into the heart of legal practice. And the bigger question of consent, which is something Erivo thinks is often far simpler than it seems. “I think we’re very wishy-washy when it comes to what consent is, when we shouldn’t be,” she says, leaning forward. “It’s very clear what consent is: if a person isn’t conscious, or conscious enough to say yes, they’re not saying, the film’s central struggle is twofold: the legal system victims have to navigate. According to erivo, The incident showed how at Rada there could often be “a deep misunderstanding of what it is like to need money”, which is something she is trying to address in the role she has held since 2024 as vice-presiden.
Tessa’s journey through a competitive profession echoes Erivo’s own experiences rising through the ranks of the West End and Broadway. Her time at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) was characterized by the challenge of navigating an institution deeply rooted in traditional, privileged structures that she felt disconnected from. Erivo recalls that her experience was notably difficult, often requiring her to juggle three jobs, including various roles at the Stratford East theatre, just to sustain herself while others had greater financial freedom. She describes feeling perpetually exhausted during this period. Including working every imaginable role at the Stratford East theatre, while classmates with means simply had to turn up. “I was exhausted all the time,” she says. “We’re in the classes, and it’s a Monday; I’ve worked all day on a Sunday, and probably done a gig at night, and I’ve come in, she held down three jobs.
Recalling a specific moment of professional pressure, Erivo notes that she was forced to decline a lucrative backing singer opportunity with Westlife that could have covered her tuition fees because the school would not grant her leave. Reflecting on her time at Rada, she expresses a desire for future students to have a more equitable experience. She acknowledges that the school asks a lot of its students, particularly those who may not have been previously exposed to classical works or specific theatrical languages. Erivo tells me the story about how she had to turn down a backing singer gig with Westlife that would have lasted two weeks and paid her £10,000 – enough for a couple of years’ tuition. “When I went to the registrar to s. That’s a big shift from doing plays at school.”.
James Norton, who was a classmate of Erivo’s at Rada, has recalled her habit of bursting into song, a natural extension of her school days in Clapham where she performed popular hits in the playground. Her post-Rada career saw her reclaim her voice through theater, culminating in her acclaimed 2015 Broadway performance as Celie in The Color Purple. Following this, she took on roles in television productions such as Michaela Coel’s Chewing Gum and Mr Selfridge, leading up to her broader success in Hollywood by 2018.
Regarding her public life, Erivo recently spoke out against an incident where she felt her humanity was undermined. After an encounter on a red carpet where she was cast in the role of a protector, she expressed frustration that her behavior was framed through a limiting lens. She argues that people in the public eye should not be expected to accept verbal abuse as a standard part of their profession. Emphasizing that she values her humanity, Erivo says the public scrutiny and the way individuals are treated in such moments have occasionally crossed a line, prompting her to speak out against the disregard for personal boundaries.
