‘It’s important that we tell our own stories’: how the Wicked movies are helping disability representation on screen

<p>Marissa Bode is the first disabled actor to play Nessarose, a key character in the stage turned film franchise – but has had to respond to online abuse</p><p>Disabled actor Marissa Bode, who plays the prominent role of Nessarose Thropp in the hit film musical Wicked and its forthcoming sequel Wicked: For Good, has called for improved representation for disabled performers in the entertainment industry – and specifically <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/13/eddie-redmayne-golden-globe-stephen-hawking-disabled-actors-characters">an end to what activists call “cripping up”</a> – casting non-disabled actors in disabled character roles.</p><p>“I really hope my casting sets precedent,” says Bode, adding: “It’s just navigating a world and a system that we have just not been acknowledged in as we should be.” A <a href="https://rudermanfoundation.org/white_papers/the-state-of-disability-representation-on-television-an-analysis-of-scripted-tv-series-from-2016-2023/">recent study</a> by the <a href="https://rudermanfoundation.org/">Rudderman Family Foundation</a> found that only 21% of disabled characters on US TV between 2016 and 2023 were played by disabled actors.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/nov/16/wicked-movies-disability-marissa-bode-nessarose-representation-on-screen">Continue reading...</a>