Magical Moments

Wicked—now in movie theaters—imagines what happened before Dorothy fell into the Land of Oz. Based on the hit Broadway musical, the movie stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as witches Elphaba and Glinda. Marissa Bode plays Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister. Like her character, Nessa, Bode uses a wheelchair. She’s the first actress with a disability to play the part.

Bode started acting when she was 8. She began using a wheelchair at 11, after a car accident. “It’s definitely given me a lot more understanding and empathy of humans in general,” she says. “With Nessa, I relate to her in many ways, particularly her wanting to find a sense of community.”

Wicked is about celebrating people’s differences. That theme is meaningful to Bode, who says being cast in the movie was a dream come true. Her favorite moment on set? Flying. “I loved being in the air,” Bode says. “Being on wires isn’t something I do every single day! So that was a lot of fun, and that felt very magical to me.”