Marissa Bode hopes her role in Wicked will defy more than gravity going forward.
The 24-year-old—who plays Nessarose, the younger sister to Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba, in the film adaptation of the Broadway show—is honored to make history as the first wheelchair user to play the Shiz University student. But she’s determined to not be the last.
“I think it should set a precedent to casting in the future for not just me but my fellow disabled talent out there,” Marissa told Zuri Hall and Justin Sylvester at the Nov. 9 Los Angeles premiere of the film. “Even just on the carpet today, seeing other disabled people and their love for Wicked and then just saying how much it means to them too, that means the world to me.”
She also knows that her representation in Wicked—in which she stars alongside Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater and more—will help others feel seen.
