PHOTOGRAPHY BY SAMI DRASIN

“If it sets in that this is real, I might lose my mind a little bit,” says Marrisa Bode. In Wicked – her feature film debut! – the 24-year-old has made history as the first disabled person to play Nessarose, Elphaba’s fiercely independent sister and Shiv classmate who just-so happens to be a wheelchair user. While no one should be defined by their disability – as she says, a wheelchair is an “assistive device” in similar vein to glasses – Bode is using Wicked’s press tour to “scream from the rooftops” about much-needed accessibilities for disabled people and to fight for industry inclusion.

“I want to speak directly to disabled people and say that you can be in spaces, a lot of spaces, so don’t let anybody tell you that you’re too much or that accommodations can’t be made,” Bode tells GAY TIMES. “Fight for yourself, fight for your rights. Don’t let people tell you that it’s not possible.”

As well as being the first wheelchair user to play Nessarose, Wicked marks a watershed moment for Hollywood as it will be one of the – here’s that word again – first blockbusters to spotlight a disabled character to this extent. As a result, Nessarose will inevitably inspire countless disabled people who have never seen themselves portrayed this authentically on-screen. Bode says: “For me to be that for so many – not even just young kids in wheelchairs, but people in wheelchairs in general – it means the world to me. It’s surreal that it’s me.”

Here, Marissa Bode discusses her lauded (and more progressive) depiction of Nessarose in Wicked, what it was like to act opposite Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey and more in – it bears repeating – her! first! film! and the need for more disabled creatives in every aspect of the entertainment industry. As a queer person chatting with a queer publication, you can also expect a bit of rainbow talk.