"Switching back and forth from characters": Cynthia Erivo talks about playing multiple characters in Poker Face Season 2 

Cynthia Erivo's work in the premiere of Poker Face season 2 has made headlines for her singular challenge: portraying five distinct characters within a single episode. Discussing the experience with Vanity Fair, Erivo mentioned that she was

"switching back and forth from different characters throughout the whole entire day."

The role was attractive to Erivo because it permitted her to compartmentalize and get a sense of what it would be like to play multiple people simultaneously, all with their style, hair, and makeup processes, as per Erivo. She called the script "insane," commenting on the breakneck speed needed to shift between characters so rapidly.

In the episode "The Game Is a Foot," Erivo plays quintuplets- Amber, Bebe, Cece, Delia, and Felicity with her personality and history. The episode centers around a family legacy and murder mystery, and Erivo's characters are the focus.

The technical and artistic requirements of the episode were high, with the production crew employing vintage Hollywood camera tricks to create seamless interactions between the sisters. Erivo's work, combined with the careful planning of the show's creators, paid off in a television moment that has not been witnessed in years.

The challenge of playing five characters

Cynthia Erivo chose to play five parts in a single episode. She was motivated by the need to challenge herself as an actor.

Explaining in her Vanity Fair interview, Erivo said,

"I wanted to figure out what it would be like to compartmentalize and play different characters all at once. To see how that felt, and to challenge myself to see if it was possible. Style-wise, hair-wise, and makeup-wise-what's the journey they've been on?"

Every sister in the episode is different and has a distinct personality and history. Erivo explained how she tackled every role separately, creating specific traits for each sister.

Cece, for instance, is a French wannabe who is finicky about her looks, while Bebe is a wild child and has become a rave kid. Delia, whom Erivo called her favorite, is a girl just trying to hold it together, and Felicity is lower maintenance than the others.

Behind the scenes of Poker Face season 2: Filming tricks and preparation

The filming of the episode involved meticulous planning and execution. Variety reports that the show employed traditional camera methods, including locked-down shots, to enable Erivo to portray different characters in a single scene. She would act as one sister, exit the frame, switch costume and makeup, and re-enter as another sister.

The performances were composited together to produce the effect of five sisters interacting. Series creator Rian Johnson was heavily invested in the process, keeping an eye on several screens to ensure each shot would play in the final cut. Natasha Lyonne, who plays Charlie Cale, described Johnson's attention to detail, saying,

"Rian had at least five to 20 screens at all times in order to keep track of monitoring them all to make sure that they would all work in the edit."

"Rian is one of those great architects who kind of sees the whole movie before he goes. Even in the writers’ room, he’ll just sit there and he’ll turn up a little treasure map of the entire episode and it’s one of my great, great, great loves that Rian does. Seeing the two of them together was a real treat."

The shooting schedule was also close, with only ten days of shooting the episode. So, Erivo's quick changes between characters were even more impressive.

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Cynthia Erivo's playing of five different characters in the premiere of Poker Face season 2 is proof of her range and commitment as an actress.

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