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INTERVIEW

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Madison Drew  | 27/12/2024

Marissa Bode did not think she and Wicked deserved each other when she first got the role of Nessarose. After being offered the role in Wicked on a Zoom call by the leads Cynthia Erivo (Elphaba) and Ariana Grande (Glinda) holding up a sign saying, “Will you be our Nessarose?” with Director Jon M.Chu also on hand, imposter syndrome had sunk in for the actress. “I was happy for myself for maybe a few hours, and then I was spiralling like, well, why is it me? Is there someone else out there that’s better? Why would they choose me?”. Since its release last month, the movie adaptation of the beloved musical Wicked has already become a cultural phenomenon. Smashing the box office with a massive $500 million to date, becoming the biggest non-sequel release of the year and soaring to the second highest-grossing stage musical adaptation of all time, overtaking the likes of Grease and Les Misérables. Whilst we hold space for the second instalment of Wicked (now officially titled Wicked: For Good), Marissa Bode takes us on her journey of navigating the industry as a disabled actress from living in a small-town Wisconsin in America to now making her film debut in one of the biggest films of the year as Nessarose.

 

 

A year after graduating from AMDA College of the Performing Arts in Los Angeles, Marissa found herself in London for the first time to film the Wicked Pt1. And Pt.2, fulfilling her childhood dream of acting. Still, even before that, she had already chosen a more realistic career route. “I did for a little bit, but it wasn’t super fulfilling, and it just wasn’t something I could see myself doing long term. I loved my previous jobs genuinely, but it was never something I could see myself doing for the rest of my life.” She confesses, “So, I think just taking that first leap and trying was important.”. Before pursuing acting in college, she filmed a video with her friends and teachers on her last day in high school in Wisconsin wishing her well, including her Chemistry teacher hoping to see her on Broadway. It was surreal when she watched it back in London during the filming of Wicked, although not on Broadway (yet), “It’s that it still happened. And it was just so wild to look back on again, this dream that I’ve had forever, and then just for it to be here and to be real, it just, it’s just so cool. And I feel so loved.”.

 

 

The 24-year-old actress has made history by being the first disabled actress to play Nessarose in any production of Wicked. The sets for Oz, where they filmed in London at Elstree Studios, were made accessible. Universal Pictures hired Disability Co-ordinator Chantelle Nassari (whom Bode praises) to enable a safe set for disabled cast members. Marissa says that having these requirements already accommodated for on-set and by the team asking her and other disabled cast members what they need is the way to make sets more inclusive. “I think sometimes people are a bit afraid to ask questions because they think that they’re going to be offensive”, she admits, “but I would 100% rather somebody makes a ‘mistake’ or maybe say something wrong, and I correct them, or just have something maybe not be perfect, and then me, or any disabled person for that matter, being able to swoop in and critique, or, ‘Hey, actually, let’s do it this way’, or fix it, or do it a different way than just no questions asked, this is how it’s going to be. Sorry if you can’t get in the building. That’s not my problem type thing.” she explains.

 

 

“Or just always the responsibility on the disabled person to do all of the work the whole time, all of the extra steps, the whole time, when you can hire somebody that can help, or again, you can ask questions, I think that’s important in terms of really making sure a disabled person feels safe. In the long run, we as humans, as we age, we become disabled. Most people become disabled in one way or another as they age, and tomorrow isn’t promised for anybody. In a number of ways, I know that more than anybody else and why I’m disabled today, nobody plans for that kind of thing. And so if you don’t necessarily care enough about disability for other people or other individuals, you should definitely care about it for yourself because you never know what could happen. I think it’s about keeping disabled people in mind and asking the right questions, hiring disabled people in your spaces, reading books on disability, providing books to kids about disability, and education are also very important in this conversation. I think it all adds up very impactful,” she continues.

 

 

Beyond the sets of Shiz, these requirements aren’t as fundamental as they should be in everyday life for disabled people. Marissa still Googles places before leaving the house “99% of the time” to feel safe and avoid being disappointed.

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“Because it’s happened a number of times before when that [the place is not accessible]. So, when [the accessibility is] there, it automatically creates a welcoming space and shows that I am thinking of you, and yes, you do have a place here. Yes, you are important. Yes, we do care. And that makes such a difference because I felt it. I’ve seen my disabled peers think, ‘Well, what’s the point of leaving my house if the world that I’m in isn’t considering me?’ or isn’t looking at me as human in the way that they think. We don’t want to feel like we’re asking for too much when I’m asking for the basics, a ramp or to something needed to get in a building in the first place.”

 

 

Marissa hopes that those who have watched the movie set in the wonderful world of Oz can see that film sets can be made accessible. Reflecting on the words of fellow disabled actress Lauren ‘Lolo’ Spencer on a recent panel together, Bode believes that if there’s enough money to build these vast sets, there’s room in the budget for them to be accessible. Regarding how the industry can continue to evolve its accessibility following her positive experience on Wicked, Marissa emphasises the message of just asking. “even if you don’t have a huge budget, what is the best way that I can accommodate you? Rather than just assuming or leaving it up to the disabled person to pick up the pieces and then them feeling small and then making it seem like it’s their fault when the accessibility just wasn’t taken into accountability in the first place. It has nothing to do with our community, nothing to do with your disability .”

 

 

Ableism is still rampant in society and has only been heightened in the age of social media. The sister of Elphaba, Nessarose, is a complex character that comes more into play in Wicked: Part Two (no spoilers!), which can be interpreted as Nessa being a villain in the story. Where there’s a villain, there will always be hate, but there’s another side of hatred that stems from Nessarose being a character in a wheelchair that has increased since the film’s release on socials of ableist jokes made to fuel their hatred against the character. After the slew of posts targeting the character’s disability, Marissa took to TikTok to criticise these posts, calling it “deeply uncomfortable” and condemned this behaviour online, saying, “aggressive comments of wanting to cause harm and push Nessa out of her wheelchair, or that she deserves her disability, are two very gross and harmful comments that real disabled people, including myself, have heard before”. Bode finds how ableism still impacts her and disabled people’s lives rightly frustrating “I wish I were exaggerating when I say this, but it happens at least twice a month, which I think is far too many times. It’s a systematic issue that needs to be changed. No one should be harassed or constantly picked on about their appearance or their disability. It’s always the low-hanging fruit they go for because they’re not clever enough to come up with something else.”

 

 

“I see it happen to my disabled peers. And again, it goes back to the reflection of society as a whole, of what happens online is a reflection of how a lot of people still see a marginalised group of people, and that’s where it can be frustrating again, seeing it happen to my peers, who are just such lovely human beings. Then I’ve gotten a little bit of that as well. It is, although frustrating, seeing it happen to my peers. In a way, it just validates for me that, oh yeah, of course, it’s not me, it’s not my disability. It’s those people who are still ignorant, trolls, and miserable for some reason, and whatever they’re doing, they can’t see a person on the other side of the screen. They don’t think it will have the impact, or if they do, they’re just, again, miserable and wanting to create chaos because they have nothing better to do.”

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Managing mean comments targeting her on social media is relatively new territory for her as an actress. However, Marissa comes equipped with experience as an internet user (She’s here for the Charli XCX x Boq remix fans have made) to know how to operate it. Other Wicked cast members have been subject to online criticism whilst on the press tour for the movie from those thinking the leads Ariana Grande and Cynthia Eviro were behaving hysterically, along with commenting on their appearances. Bode believes that women still being scrutinised this way online says a lot about society. “If the people that I admire and if the women that I admire in this industry are also getting the most hateful comments or getting comments about their appearance, I cannot take it personally. If these fantastic women are still being called every name in the book without doing anything wrong or just existing as a woman online, then it’s definitely not me, and it’s definitely not them. It’s definitely the third person involved.” She wants to use her platform to continue to speak up on these issues: “I think conversation is critical in helping a change perspective, or just helping people see things differently. Obviously, I’m not going to do that for the entirety of the internet, but if I can do that for even just one person, I think it makes a world of difference.”

 

 

Marissa found her first premiere experience in Australia for Wicked “overwhelming” as someone with social anxiety. The actress has chronicled growing up with social anxiety in a short film she created in college that was addressed to her younger self. She felt so lucky to have this opportunity to experience the magic of Wicked, but she recalls it being “hard to really capture that feeling. And the feeling of fans screaming here, and then like being in an interview and having to focus on the interview and just so many different things going on at once”. Since the whirlwind of the Wicked press tour, Marissa has been meditating more and being a lot more open with people in her group, which has helped her when in such a heightened environment, like being in Wicked can be at times.  

 

 

From this era of Nessarose, Bode has learnt to be kinder to herself. Taking on one of the key messages from Wicked, she acknowledges there might have been times when she wasn’t the best person and that some of it still lingers, but she believes that she’s grown a lot from this to make her the 24-year-old she is today. One of the things she’s taken away from her days at Oz is to practice talking to herself more like a friend than a “mean voice” in her brain, which is still a work in progress today. Wicked has changed her for good in many ways, and we cannot wait for more Nessarose in part two next year.

Wicked is out now in cinemas. 

Photography Paris Mumpower

Styling Ali Mandelkorn

MUA Adam Breuchaud

Hair Styling Graham Nation

Location Hollywood VOLUME

 

White dress

 

Look 1, Dress, Anna Quan. Earrings, Jacquie Aiche. Rings, Nouvel Heritage and EFFY. Shoes, Reformation.

 

Blue Dress

 

Look 2, Dress, Harbison. Ear Cuff, Jenny Bird. Rings, A. Jaffe. Shoes, Paul Andrew. Sunglasses, Otra.

 

Plaid Dress

 

Look 3, Dress, Simkhai. Blazer, YSL. Jewelry, Cendré. Shoes, Charles + Keith.

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