-Congratulations on the film.
I have to ask, this is the first film portrayal
of Harriet Tubman. -Yes. Yes, it is.
-So when you get offered a part like that,
excited, nervous, any apprehension?
-All of the above. -Yeah.
-You fall out of your seat.
Almost spit your tea on the ground.
[ Laughter ]
But, yeah, really, just -- it's an honor.
You know, it's a huge responsibility,
and you want to make sure that you are as truthful
and as full as you can be.
But, yeah, it was amazing.
-In the clip, we saw Leslie Odom Jr.
-Yes. -He is a friend --
a longtime friend of yours, yeah?
-I know him a little bit. -You know him a little bit.
With an undertaking like this, does it bring you comfort
to work with somebody you know so well?
-Absolutely. He's just --
He's the sweetest, most giving person.
And he knows me, so he knows buttons to push.
So we can always play with each other and stuff.
-Right, right. -But I think it was really
complementary to be able to play those two roles with each other,
because we can go as far as we need to to make the roles,
I guess, sing a little bit.
-Sometimes we have actors on the show,
and we talk about the special skills
they would list on their résumés,
but sometimes they get called out,
'cause they actually have to do it.
-Yeah. -And they're very hard.
You have a lot of things that you do in this film.
-Yes. -You ride a horse,
you shoot a gun. -I do.
-You run. You climb cliffs, all the time in a corset.
-Yes. -Were those all things
that you actually knew how to do going into it?
-Yes, except for climbing a cliff.
That was a new thing. -Yeah.
You do it quite well. -Thank you very much.
-You're welcome, yeah.
-I had not had very much practice.
I practiced that day.
Because I'm a glutton for punishment.
But it was -- it was an experience, for sure,
and I wanted to be as close as to --
as the character as I could be, so I took all the risk.
Gave my director a heart attack,
because I wanted to do all of that stuff.
-Right. -But, yeah, most of it,
I could do already. -Well, very well done.
-Thank you. -We were talking backstage.
Because, in the film, "Widows," which you're wonderful in,
you do a lot of running in that. -Yes.
-You're an excellent on-screen runner.
-Why, thank you. -And then I was happy to hear
that, in real life, you're a runner.
You ran the New York City Marathon last year?
-A couple years ago, yeah. -A couple years ago.
-Yeah. [ Cheers and applause ]
-How was that experience?
-It was really cool, actually.
I really -- there's a really wonderful energy around it.
The people are there to root you on.
But when you hit about mile 22,
it felt like a brick was thrown at the back of my head.
-Yeah. -Yeah, it was tough.
But it was a thrilling experience.
-That's what we -- do you think you would do another one?
-Yeah. -Okay, good.
-I want to do one next year. -Oh, excellent. Look at that.
You're not taking any time off at all.
-Never. [ Laughter ]
-You -- You actually write a song --
-Yes. -You perform a song
on the soundtrack. -Yeah.
-And then you also wrote it, as well.
I did not know that you were a songwriter.
How did it come about that you both sang and wrote
a song for this soundtrack?
-Because I like doing a lot of work.
-Yeah, no kidding. [ Laughter ]
And you did it all on a horse. -Yes.
-Yeah. [ Laughter ]
-No, I -- You know, after we shot the film,
I kind of had a feeling that I might be able
to give something in that vein.
I love to sing. It's part of my life.
And I've been doing it for a really long time.
And writing is something I've been doing since I was 16.
It's just now I get to show it. -Yeah.
-And so I just asked if I could be a part
of the writing process, and we found this amazing writer
in seminary school, who had put forward a submission
for the end credits.
And I asked if I could be a part of making that song
feel like me and of the film.
And we came together and put this piece of work on screen.
And hopefully people like it.
-Oh, I think they will. I definitely think they will.
One thing I have -- have really enjoyed...
-Yeah. -...and I've liked a great deal,
and I don't think I'm alone.
You do a lot of press for a film like this.
And you have been having some dominant performances
on the red carpet. -Thank you.
-And I'd just like to show some of them on.
Because you bring an amazing amount of color to it.
-Yes. [ Cheers ]
-Tie it together.
This one, so beautiful.
[ Cheers and applause ]
I like this one.
The expression changes with the outfit.
-Yeah, no, the expression has to change.
Everything is -- all the details have to match, you know?
-Yeah, exactly. I liked -- so the whole part --
-The whole thing. It's character.
Each person's a character.
-And then you were --
This is this year's Met Ball, yeah?
-This was the year before? -Year before.
-I think, yeah.
-This right here is an incredible look.
Just every part of it.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you.
-How -- At the end of the night,
how intensive is the makeup removal for an outfit like this?
-Well, you know, it's not as intensive as you think it is.
I did not remove any of my eyebrows
with the Swarovski crystals here.
No eyebrow hairs were harmed in this action.
No, you just go gently and take as much as you can.
And you do your whole regime
and make sure you're not looking crazy in the morning.
-For someone who is obviously very skilled
at putting a look together... -Yes.
-...will you be doing anything for Halloween?
-Not this year. -Okay.
-Because I'll probably be on a flight somewhere.
-Yeah, and that is -- -And I don't want to --
-Yeah. -Yeah.
-No one wants to get on a flight with someone in costume, yeah.
-No, no, no. [ Light laughter ]
But I do like to dress up, as you can see.
And one year, I was dressed as an Avatar.
-Oh, wow. -Yes.
That was a very interesting process.
By the end of the night, it looked like
I had killed a Smurf. -Oh, yeah.
[ Laughter ] Right.
That's, like, a lot of Halloween costumes
start the night with a lot of optimism.
-Right. -And by the end of the night,
they're like, "That's a dead Smurf."
-I mean, it was hilarious. I had contacts in.
And I had these nails, so it was like,
"I can't get my eyes out. Can't get my contacts."
-Was that, like, a full -- were you completely blue?
-A full situation. Head-to-toe blue.
-Wow! So you -- I mean, how long did that take?
-Three hours. -Three hours.
Man, you like Halloween. -I'm committed.
I'm committed. -Yeah.
You do. I mean, I guess that's true.
Like, I mean, if I -- Again, if they had given me
the part of Harriet Tubman, I would've had someone else
climb that cliff. [ Laughter ]
You are very clearly a person who will do every part of it.
-Yes, I will. -Including taking three hours
to make yourself an Avatar. -Yes.
-Hey, thank you so much for being here.
Congratulations on the film. [ Cheers and applause ]
Lovely to meet you. -Thank you.
-Cynthia Erivo, everybody.