Cynthia Erivo On the Overwhelming Responsibility of Portraying Aretha Franklin: She s One of My Heroes msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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As an actor and singer, Cynthia Erivo knows how to command a stage. But to do so as someone else someone like Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul can be a peculiar feeling.
“I know this may sound very, very strange and airy fairy, but it feels like they sort of step into the room for a second,” Erivo says in the latest episode of the L.A. Times podcast “The Envelope.”
It made preparation all the more key for Erivo as she took on the role of the powerhouse singer in “Genius: Aretha,” the National Geographic series chronicling Franklin’s life and work. Erivo says she relied heavily on Franklin’s media interviews and appearances, including a 1976 conversation with Dick Clark on “American Bandstand” to promote her album “Sparkle.” Erivo picked up the nuances of Franklin’s personality by paying close attention to how the singer would interact with a person she didn’t know well.
Listen • 42:49
Courtney B. Vance now stars in Genius: Aretha as the singer s father, Rev. C. L Frankin. He co-starred in the recent HBO series, Lovecraft Country, and won an Emmy for his portrayal of Johnnie Cochran in the 2016 series, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.
Before she became a superstar, Aretha Franklin was a girl who sang gospel in her father s church in Detroit. Her father, Rev. C.L. Franklin, was a preacher who became known for the radio broadcasts and albums of his sermons. When the Rev. Franklin was establishing himself in the 1950s, he toured the Deep South gospel circuit with his gospel caravan and, when Aretha was 12, he took her along as a performer.
Acting Is Problem Solving, Says Courtney B Vance wwno.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from wwno.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The “Genius: Aretha” star will discuss her career and overcoming challenges at WrapWomen’s event
(Credit: Terrell Mullin)
WrapWomen is pleased to welcome Grammy, Emmy and Tony Award-winning actress, singer and producer Cynthia Erivo for a Spotlight Conversation presented by National Geographic at the 2021 BE Mentorship Conference, May 11-13.
The livestreaming event will offer three days of mentorship, education and career-building workshops by the most influential women in media and entertainment.
Erivo will discuss her career and her latest role as Aretha Franklin in National Geographic’s global anthology “Genius: Aretha” in conversation with Wrap editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman. The series is the first definitive, scripted limited series on the life of the universally acclaimed Queen of Soul. The series premiered on National Geographic on March 21.