Wicked star Cynthia Erivo says London drama school RADA dismissed her as 'lazy'
Wicked star Cynthia Erivo says London drama school RADA dismissed her as 'lazy'
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Wicked star Cynthia Erivo has criticised her time at the prestigious London drama school she attended, saying teachers often dismissed her as 'lazy' - when actually she was just exhausted because she working to pay for her fees. The 38-year-old, who's been nominated for Best Actress at the upcoming Oscars ceremony for her role as Elphaba in the first installment of Wicked, told The Guardian that the global success she's currently enjoying didn't come easy.
![[RADA drama school in central London; alumni Cynthia Erivo became the institution's first Vice President in 2024, alongside President David Harewood]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/11/81349705-14333049-RADA_drama_school_in_central_London_In_response_to_Black_Lives_M-a-18_1738063869270.jpg)
The star graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, known as RADA, in 2010 with a BA in acting - and is now the institution's Vice President - but says her time there didn't go entirely smoothly. She said during her first year, it was implied she was 'lazy' - and she was given 'tiny parts' in productions by way of punishment.
![[Speaking to The Guardian, Erivo said she was actually just tired while studying, because she had a job at shirtmakers Thomas Pinks throughout, which helped fund her course]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/26/08/92897319-14326475-Fans_poked_fun_at_how_Ariana_grabbed_Cynthia_s_elegantly_manicur-a-11_1737881604535.jpg)
Erivo, who was born in London's Stockwell, had a job throughout the course, working at shirtmaker Thomas Pink, and says she was simply tired. She told the newspaper: 'I genuinely had to work much harder than other students, and I got penalised for it. I’d come in exhausted, and they’d say: "Well, she’s not dedicated. She’s not concentrating.".
![[Cynthia said she found out about her Oscar nomination while on an airplane flying from London to Utah for the Sundance Film Festival]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/28/11/94499517-14333049-Cynthia_said_she_found_out_about_her_nomination_while_on_an_airp-a-3_1738062330100.jpg)
'It took me a long time to make people understand that I wasn’t lazy – I was just tired.”. The star says she was served up another reason for being given lesser parts by the time she was in her third year, saying RADA told her she was 'efficient' and others needed the experience of bigger roles.
![[The moment saw the pair discussing Wicked: Part One's closing number, Defying Gravity, with journalist Tracy E. Gilchrist for Out Magazine - who claimed fans were 'taking the lyrics' and 'really holding space with that']](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/26/08/94525405-14326475-image-m-4_1737881508360.jpg)
