Marissa Bode has almost given up on the idea of playing Nessarose in Jon M. Chu’s feature film adaptation. evil.
“Before that, the last time I got a call, I don’t think I got a call. I didn’t hear back from casting,” Bode said. hollywood reporter About her quest to land a role in the beloved stage musical. The 24-year-old said she made a “cute little horror video” about witches to distract herself “without even thinking about it” evil”.
But just two days after uploading the video to Instagram, she received a response from the casting call saying she had another Zoom call with Chu, who she said told her to be careful when posting witch-themed videos because no one would know about her Will take on the role of Nessarose.
“I was like, ‘Oh my God, I ruined it myself. Jesus Christ,'” she said. During the same call, Chu suddenly told her there was a knock on his door, at which point he opened the door with his computer in tow. “He opened the door with a zoom camera and turned the camera around. This is Ariana [Grande] and cynthia [Erivo] It says “Welcome to Oz, will you be our Nessaros?”
Nessaros is the sister of the evil witch Elphaba, played by Erivo. Her relationship with Elphaba and with Shiz’s college classmate Boq (played by Ethan Slater) played a key role in the original novel evil The second act of the musical is expected to be released as a film next year.
It was important for Bird to get the key moments between her character and Slater’s Burke just right. “[The Oz Dust scene where the students sneak out to a dance club] So important and critical to the future of both of our characters,” Bode said. “It really refreshed our relationship and what we mean to each other.
“This was the first time Nessa truly felt seen by a boy, and in this moment, Boq felt like he had found friends and a sense of belonging,” she added.
Bode’s Nessaros also has a complicated relationship with her sister Elphaba. Bode said it was easy to achieve on-screen chemistry with Erivo because of his personality. “Cynthia already has a very nurturing quality in her day-to-day life, where she’s always on top of things and looking out for other people,” Bode said of her partner. “I don’t think it would be too difficult to transfer that to the screen.”
Nessarose uses a wheelchair, but no one plays the role evilBroadway shows for over 20 years have used wheelchairs in real life. The actress said she first saw the stage musical when she was 11 or 12 years old and it was a formative moment for her. “This is the first time I’ve seen a character in a wheelchair on stage,” she said.
Bode added: “It was important for me to honor the wonderful work that was done in this stage musical while making it my own and bringing my experience as a disabled person to this role. “I want the audience to know that we put in a lot of effort. “
For Border, the role meant remembering a version of himself in his youth that didn’t appear on screen. “I think 11-year-old me would have been as shocked as I am now, but also wanted to feel proud and know that being disabled isn’t actually as scary as it’s been taught,” she explains.
“Or there’s something that needs fixing.”
Bode hopes her role in the musical will help push the film industry forward. “What I want to pass on to non-disabled people is [to] Educate more people with disabilities. Make sure your everyday space is accessible, even if you’re not in the casting world,” she says. “Don’t wait for people with disabilities to enter your space to make it accessible. No one is guaranteed they won’t be disabled tomorrow. Anything can happen.
“Listen to the voices of the disability community and not hear it from a lens that we are not telling,” she added. “And hearing the perspectives of multiple people with disabilities.”
Marissa Bird (left) as Nessarose and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in Universal Pictures evil.
Giles Kate/Universal Pictures
Bode considers her career to beevil (Both movies have already been filmed, although the second one is set for release in November.) She hopes to play a variety of roles. “I hope to be able to play more roles in the future to take disability out of the spotlight because that’s just not realistic,” she said.
“Think about accessibility or think about people with disabilities and acknowledge disabilities. If you don’t acknowledge that, you can’t make your space accessible, but don’t make it that important,” Bode said. “We are actually just humans coexisting with you.
“For me, there’s a lot more to the conversation than just my disability. And while it’s something I talk about a lot – because I think when you bring up the conversation, that’s how progress is made – but It’s not every conversation I have with my friends,” she continued. “I talk about not just my disability, but a million different things because, well, I’m a 24-year-old woman like everyone else.”
This story first appeared in the December Independence issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.
