You can't really appreciate Wicked until you know Marissa Bode's story.

Marissa Bode landed a lead role in Wicked via talent, hard work, and just a hint of witchcraft.

The 24-year-old actress and singer made her film debut this year as Nessarose Thropp, the younger sister of Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba Thropp, who is accompanied to Shiz University by her magical older sister.

Bode graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles in 2021 and was working as an after-school art teacher and mentor when the open casting call for Wicked landed in her inbox.

With her role in Wicked, Bode has made history as the first wheelchair user to play the role of Nessarose — a character whose wheelchair use is a prominent part of her story arc — in the musical's more than 20-year history.

Wicked, which was directed by Jon M. Chu, is the film adaptation of the stage musical of the same name, which was loosely based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire. The story is an unofficial prequel to The Wizard Of Oz and tells the origin story of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good (Ariana Grande).

Watch the trailer for Wicked. Article continues below.

While attending Shiz University, Nessarose is determined to become more independent under the watchful eyes of her protective older sister, and soon falls in love with a Munchkin named Boq (played by Broadway star Ethan Slater) who is madly in love with Galinda.

Marissa Bode at the Australian premiere of Wicked. Image: Universal Pictures

While in Australia for the world premiere of Wicked: Part One, Bode told Mamamia about the unconventional events that led to her casting.

"For the role of Nessarose, they wanted to cast somebody who was authentically disabled and in a wheelchair," Bode explained. "So they did a nationwide casting call and I sent in a self-tape. Then I got a callback later that day and over the span of just a few weeks, I did callbacks and work sessions with the casting team.

"After not hearing anything about the role for a while, I freaked out, because this is Wicked," she continued. "I needed this and I put my whole heart into this. So then I made a little short film that was spooky and all about witches and how you can turn bad luck into good luck. At the end of my film, the spell that I create is to make good news come knocking, and then you hear a knock at the door, and then it cuts to black. That's how my film ends.

"Then two days after I posted that film to my Instagram, I heard back from casting about the role. So who knows? Maybe I did create a spell by accident.

"The callback actually ended up being a call from (Wicked director) John telling me that I got the role via having Cynthia and Ari holding up a sign that said 'Welcome to Oz, will you be our Nessarose?

"I was not processing it at all. I'm pretty sure I looked like a deer in headlights."

Listen to Laura Brodnik's interview with the cast of Wicked. Article continues below.

Bode's co-star Ethan Slater said that the news of her casting quickly spread through the Wicked set in the UK, where the principal cast was already in rehearsals, and that the tidbit about her possible use of witchcraft was also shared.

"What was crazy, on the other side of that story, was that I was in London and we had just started rehearsals," Slater said. "John said to me 'I'm not supposed to tell you yet, but I think we've found our Nessarose and she's amazing… I also think she's a little witchy because she just posted this video. Everyone was so excited because she sounded so perfect for the role."

To Bode, Slater added, "You're perfectly amazing".Bode, who began using a wheelchair at age 11 after a car accident, first saw Wicked performed live when a touring production of the Tony Award-winning musical played near her hometown of Mazomanie, Wisconsin, and her mum surprised her with tickets.

"This all feels incredibly full circle for me," Bode said. "When I first saw Wicked on the stage at around age 11 or 12 I saw a character in a wheelchair, which is something I had never seen on stage before.

"Now to be the first disabled person who is authentically in a wheelchair and playing this role, I know what that would have meant to me when I was younger. To just see a character like that — and then to actually be that for so many other people — it just means the world to me. But it means a lot more for what I know it is going to do for the community as a whole."

Ethan Slater as Boq and Marissa Bode as Nessarose in Wicked. Image: Universal Pictures

Wicked Part One perfectly sets up the character of Nessarose and gives her a more layered and complex persona than what fans have come to expect from the stage show. Fans of the Broadway show will also be aware of the dark (yet understandable) and compelling turn her character takes in the second part of the show, a storyline that will be explored in Wicked: Part Two, which will be released in 2025.

"This first movie is just such a good introduction to our characters and really establishes our story," Bode said of her Nessarose and Ethan Slater's Boq. "It shows who we are and the heart of who we are too. You can get a glimpse into our character's humanity and their intentions.

"I'm not going to say too much about the second film, because I'm not trying to get in trouble today, but it's going to be amazing."

Wicked Part One released in Australian cinemas 21 November 2024. Wicked Part Two is scheduled to arrive in theatres on November 21, 2025.

Feature Image: Universal Pictures Australia.

Laura Brodnik is Mamamia's Head of Entertainment and host of The Spill podcast. You can follow her on Instagram here for more entertainment news and recommendations.