For Wicked: For Good star Marissa Bode, the past year has been quite a whirlwind. Shortly after graduating from college, the 25-year-old landed her first major role as Nessarose Thropp in the film adaptation of Wicked, joining a stacked cast of veteran actors including Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, and Jonathan Bailey. It's not a bad way to start your career, although she says it did feel “overwhelming” to be thrust into one of the most notable press tours for a blockbuster film in recent memory.
“Our first stop [on the press tour] was Australia last year, and right before I went out onto the yellow brick road carpet they had, I remember feeling like, Oh my God, I feel sick,” she tells Teen Vogue. “I was so anxious, incredibly anxious, because there's so many people there."
But, Bode continues, "I think getting through that first stop with all those people made it easier to do the rest of everything, and all the fans were nothing but lovely.”
Bode's involvement in the film adaptation of Wicked is significant: She's the first queer woman of color to take on the role of Nessarose and she's the first wheelchair user to play the role, even though that is a major detail of Nessa's character.
“I'm really glad that [Wicked] has given me the chance to amplify more disabled voices with the platform I have and encourage others to not only speak out, but to my non-disabled peers, to also help us out, because we can't do it on our own,” Bode says. “The disabled community, unfortunately, is one of those communities that is often left behind — or left out of the conversation completely — when it comes to fighting for our rights.”
Below, Marissa Bode speaks with us for Teen Vogue's New Hollywood Class of 2025.
Marissa Bode: I started acting, truly, just for fun in the local community theater [in Wisconsin] growing up. By the end of high school, it just grew into something that I was fascinated by in terms of the subtleties of on-camera acting, specifically. I went to a performing arts college, and I continued to audition my first year after graduating. Then, almost a year after graduating, I booked Wicked. In between everything, I had booked maybe one or two commercials, but nothing big like Wicked. So it seemed to happen oddly fast for me. I, of course, am so grateful for this career path so far.
MB: After graduating, I think a lot of people go through this period, especially when it's so hard to find work to stay alive — a survival job — and balance acting at the same time. And as a disabled person, specifically, it was so hard to find any sort of survival job out of college where people didn't just look at me and make a million assumptions, even if I was qualified for the position. It was frustrating.
So I ended up not disclosing that I was disabled, and the second I did that, I heard back from so many jobs — which was really frustrating. But I think I did question if acting was something I financially could continue to do, not because I didn't love it, but because I needed to eat and to live and to keep paying rent and whatever else.
I don't think anybody should have to choose between their passion and eating and living, and I think that goes for, really, any job in general. But I've learned a lot from that, and it has humbled me in a lot of ways.
MB: The preparation was very different for me because she definitely switches. It's less happy-go-lucky, definitely a lot less hopeful than Nessa in the first film. It goes back to that thing of wanting control, not necessarily always of others, but of her own life and herself. I think it's twice as hard when she did grow up so coddled, something that she didn't ask for.
Nessa doesn't make the best decisions, and she is very selfish, but I understand where she's coming from; when the one person that's left, or that you feel is left, who you love and care for so deeply doesn't feel the same. I understand how painful that is, and just the disabled experience of...
I've experienced it before in my life, and I know disabled peers in my life who have experienced having people be nice to you from a distance, but it's not always genuine. A lot of the time, it's self-righteous rather than actually caring about my personhood or fully seeing me as a person. So I really do understand Nessa in so many different ways, and I really do love the complexities and the many layers to her.
MB: I can say this 'cause you see it for a second in the trailer, probably being on wires yet again, in the air filming. Yeah, as I float in the air.
MB: A little bit. Of course, [we] wanted to make sure that everything is safe. Previously, in a different space, we had practiced just being on wires and being in the air, both in my chair, because of the first film where I fly with my chair, and then the second film out of my chair. Obviously, practicing just me floating for the second part.
MB: I think it comes down to the writing. The writing was done before I had been cast, so I personally didn't have a hand on the writing itself, but I really appreciated it. After talking with Winnie, one of the main writers of Wicked, she [spoke] about talking with a disabled friend on how to make those changes after hearing some of the feedback from the disabled community of the stage musical, of how it is a bit harmful.
And know that the motivation behind Nessa is definitely different in the second film, from wanting to be and begging to be healed and fixed from Elphaba. Her desires are a lot different, which I think adds to her as a character. 'Cause I think when it comes to disabled characters, that being their only desire or the only thing they're focused on tends to make them a lot more one-dimensional.
MB: Whether it was me who was cast or anybody who is authentically disabled, I think it's important to cast disabled people as disabled characters, because we go about life that way and no one knows us better than us. But also, in an industry where disabled people already aren't cast a ton, it makes a statement to cast somebody who is authentically disabled in the role, and gives more opportunity to those that still are fighting to be seen in the industry as a whole.
So I'm very grateful to be part of this production, something so big, something so beloved. Being a part of something so big and making an effort to cast somebody who is disabled is incredibly important, and, hopefully, should send the message to casting directors in the future as well. One, cast more disabled people authentically; two, just cast more disabled people, period.
MB: Well, I think for the second act, I did realize how much more of a method actor I am than I maybe thought, not in the way that I was evil to everybody. But prior to when we filmed, or the week before we filmed, I told people that I was going to be around like, "Hey, I'm just not going to be as talkative. I'll probably spend more time by myself and in my tent by myself. I probably won't socialize much this week. But if I seem a little off, I swear it's not you. I just want to be more to myself and keep my concentration." I didn't realize how much I really did need that.
MB: There's never really been a specific one person. I would love to do more coming-of-age stuff. I think that'd be fun, or horror, or just queer stuff. In general, I'd love to be involved in more queer projects.
Also, I lied: There are several people now that I'm thinking of that I would love to work with. Actually, there's so many! Why did I say none? It just came to my brain. I would love to work with Quinta Brunson. I think she's very talented. I love Abbott Elementary. It's such a fun show. Ayo Edebiri is just a powerhouse that I think I'd love to work with. And then, recently, I watched the show Overcompensating, which I really loved — just right up my alley of coming of age, very fun, also obviously queer. So, Benito Skinner.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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