‘Wicked’ actress suffers from disability in real life: speaks out against mockery

‘Wicked’ actress suffers from disability in real life: speaks out against mockery

His story “Wicked” is more complicated than it seems: Elphaba is not the villain that “The Wizard of Oz” made us think, and the antagonists are the most unexpected characters.

However, the film’s charm goes beyond its plot, as its cast consists of talented artists such as Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.

Also featured in “Wicked” is Marissa Bode, an actress who plays Nessarose and who, like her character, uses a wheelchair in real life.

Who is Marissa Bode, the actress who plays Nessarose, Elphaba’s sister

Marissa Bode is an American actress born on August 28, 2000. That is, she is a young Hollywood talent, as she is only 24 years old.

He started acting from the age of eight and participated in many plays such as “Mary Poppins” and “Peter Pan”. However, at the age of 11 she suffered a car accident that left her in a wheelchair. But she did not give up and continued to pursue her big dream of becoming an actress.

Thanks to her determination, she convinced her parents to move to Los Angeles to study at the prestigious American Academy of Music and Drama.

He participated in the independent short films ‘Carsleepers’ and ‘No Roles Written’, while during his student years he wrote, directed and produced his first short film ‘You’re Adorable’. She then worked as an art teacher.

His big break came with ‘Wicked’. She stuck with the character of Nessarose and became the first wheelchair user to play his sister Elphaba.

In fact, Marissa Bode has been open about the importance of this on-screen representation and how she hopes her role will inspire others and promote inclusion in the film:

“When you’re not represented a lot and you don’t see yourself, you still have, or at least I had, a little bit of ‘I know what I’m capable of.’ I know I can act. I know other talent with special needs who can act and model but what part of the industry is willing to do that and is willing to look out for people with disabilities and that was the only thing I came across?

Why is Marissa Bode in a wheelchair, what disease does she have?

In ‘Bad’ Nessarose, the character played by Marissa Bode, is in a wheelchair due to complications during childbirth.

As explained in the film, her mother ate too many milkweed flowers while pregnant to avoid having another green baby like Elphaba.

However, Marissa Bode was not born with medical conditions like Nessarose. He is in a wheelchair as a result of a car accident he had when he was only 11 years old.

Marissa confessed that she identifies with her character in ‘Wicked’ because like Nessarose she wanted to prove to herself that she could be an independent person:

“Even though you love your family, you really want to be alone and prove to yourself that you can, even though you already know you can.”

For “Wicked,” Marissa Bode worked closely with disability counselors and choreographers, and the film’s production made adjustments on set to fit the actress’ needs: “Thankfully, Shiz University is accessible. There are ramps everywhere,” Bode said. .

The ridicule and negative comments that Marissa Bode has to deal with.

Unfortunately, some offensive comments have started circulating online against Marissa Bode’s character on ‘Wicked’, accompanied by jokes and bad jokes about her disability.

The actress didn’t sit idly by and took to her personal TikTok account to post a video in which she shared her thoughts on these indiscreet comments:

“Aggressive comments that she wants to hurt and push Nessa out of her wheelchair or that she deserves her disability are unpleasant and offensive comments that real disabled people like myself have heard before. […] “I need many of you (non-disabled people) to make an effort to analyze and unlearn your own ability.”

Source: univision

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