When she was 8 years old, Marissa Bode made her acting debut as an orphan in “The Prince and the Pauper” at her local community theater in Mazomanie, Wisconsin.
“I had one line and I was so scared, like, ‘What if I forget it?!’ “ Bode recalls. “But after that, I was like, ‘Oh, this is a piece of cake. I’ll be continuing to do this for quite a while.’ ”
Sixteen years later, she's made her way to a much bigger stage in “Wicked,” the big-screen version of the Broadway musical sensation. The radiant newcomer plays Nessarose, the “tragically beautiful” sister of the emerald-skinned Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), who becomes known in Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West.
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Bode, 24, is the first wheelchair user in the musical’s 21-year history to be cast as Nessa, who also uses a wheelchair. It’s a profound milestone for the first-time film actress, who fell in love with “Wicked” as a teenager when she saw the national tour in Wisconsin.
“It was great seeing a character who was in a wheelchair on stage because I had never seen that before,” Bode says. Now, “knowing that a whole generation of other kids in wheelchairs are going to see this movie has made me very emotional.”
The actress who plays Nessarose helped make the 'Wicked' movie set wheelchair accessible
At age 11, Bode was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident on her way to rehearsal for “American Girls Revue,” an adaptation of the American Girl books. A month later, she gathered with her castmates in the lobby of her children’s hospital, where she performed the 60-minute musical from a wheelchair for a few dozen family and friends.
Just weeks after her injury, that performance “taught me there is a place for me in theater, and also that it can be accessible,” Bode says. “That was very important to me, especially in a very pivotal moment of my life.”
Bode continued to act in musicals throughout high school, playing Mrs. Banks in “Mary Poppins” and Ronnette in “Little Shop of Horrors.”
“It almost seemed a bit strange to me that a lot of people were like, ‘Oh, she never gave up!’ ” Bode recalls. “My thought was always like, ‘Well, why would I?’ I think a lot of that is people’s perception of disability as an inhibitor, which I never really did see it that way. Rather than looking at somebody with a disability and thinking they can’t do something, it’s about creating spaces and saying, ‘You’re welcome here.’ “
That can-do mentality carried over to “Wicked,” where Bode worked with a disability consultant to make the production more accessible. That included building a fully accessible trailer, as well as installing ramps throughout the set. She also offered notes to director Jon M. Chu about how Nessa would go about her days at Shiz University.
“I suggested hanging the backpack on the back of her chair, rather than carrying it like they initially handed it to me, because that’s just what a lot of wheelchair users do,” Bode says. “He was always so great about checking in with me and making sure I was comfortable.”
“Finding Marissa was a godsend,” Chu says. “We wanted someone who understood what it felt like to use a wheelchair, and who could embody Nessa in a way that was youthful and fresh. Her dancing was amazing, and she worked with us on how to design her wheelchair as a piece of her body, and not just a thing you put her in.”
Marissa Bode wants to remind you that 'disability isn't a bad thing'
Bode is tight-lipped about “Wicked: Part Two” (in theaters Nov. 21, 2025), although as fans of the stage show know, Nessa takes a dramatic turn after Elphaba breaks bad and goes into hiding. “You’ll see a darkness rising within her and what happens when you rot from the inside out,” Chu teases.
The actress now lives in Los Angeles with a roommate and five cats, one named Munchkin. “It’s very fitting,” she jokes. “We think he’s part Maine Coon because he’s so massive – very much the opposite of his name.”
Looking ahead, she’d like to do “a little bit of everything,” whether that’s a horror film or coming-of-age comedy. She’d also be interested in writing and directing.
“I feel so grateful to be on a project as big as ‘Wicked,’ because I’m really looking forward to what the future brings,” Bode says. “I would love to work with more disabled actors in general.”
Her wish is that with the proper education, more people will learn that disability is not a deterrent. She also hopes to inspire those in the disabled community.
“Advocate for yourself," Bode says. "You’re not annoying asking for accommodations. Don’t feel like anything is your fault just because you’re out here trying to exist. There is never anything wrong with you – your disability isn’t a bad thing.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Wicked' movie's Nessarose talks emotional moment for wheelchair users
