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Marissa Bode has made history as the first disabled actor to play Nessarose Thropp in Wicked, and she's opening up about just how much that means to her.
In an interview with actor, author and disability advocate Hannah Diviney, Marissa says she feels honoured to be the representation she never saw onscreen as a child:
"It was so cool when I saw Wicked for the first time on stage and to see a character in a wheelchair was so cool. And then to actually have somebody that's actually disabled in a wheelchair. For so many kids out there and just people in general to see, 'hey, that's me, this person looks like me'. It's just so cool because I didn't have that growing up and so to be that for so many people is just so incredibly cool."
She adds that times are changing and hopes Hollywood includes more disabled actors in their projects:
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"I think it definitely adds a whole other layer. Like we're smart, we're going to Google. I Google, in terms of, 'is this actor or actress actually disabled?' And a lot of the time, the case is 'no' specifically or has been 'no' when playing disabled characters. I think it's incredibly important authentically disabled people are cast for a disabled role. And also to cast more disabled people in general in roles that don't focus on the disability."
Marissa, who began using a wheelchair at the age of 11 following a spinal cord injury, had never acted in a movie before landing the role of Nessarose. She stars alongside Ariana Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba.
Check out her full chat with Hannah below:
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