To think (professional) able bodied actors shouldn't be given roles of characters with disabilities

[manicinsomniac]

Or not unless no disabled actor is available who can play the role (as might be the case with a severe disability or amateur acting).

This video: www.facebook.com/disabilityonthemighty/videos/1395870050538459/
has been doing the rounds among my thespian type friends on facebook and I think it makes a lot of sense.
(in summary it says that 20% of people are disabled but only 2% of characters on tv have disabilities and 95% of those roles go to able bodied actors leaving very few opportunities for disabled actors. It compares old practices of casting white actors to play black characters and says that able bodied actors playing disabled characters should be equally avoided nowadays).

It's getting a lot of positive attention but some people are saying that there's no point in acting if we only get to play characters like ourselves and that some actors have given brilliant portrayals of disabled characters (Leo di Caprio in What's Eating Gilbert Grape comes up a lot).

I do agree with that point but I think there are enough challenging roles out there for talented able bodied actors without taking the few roles available to disabled actors. I don't think they should be allowed to have the roles unless the casting director/director has tried and failed to cast a suitable disabled actor. AIBU?

It probably wouldn't always work but the video does cover that by saying that the same technology that can make an able bodied person appear disabled can be used to make a disabled person look able bodied. If, for example, the character is able bodied for the first 10 minutes of a film before an accident or has a dream when they can walk or something then technology could make that work - put the top half of one actor together with the bottom half of another actor or something.

I'm not saying that should always have to be done. Just that it could be and it could remove another stumbling block for talented disabled actors.

your argument is not the same thing at all

No - but it's an extension of how far it could go.

I've always been surprised to find out that a disabled character has been played by a non-disabled actor, but as others have said, the disability is just one facet of the character - if the applicants don't fit the rest of it, can't act or simply don't apply then there may not be much choice....

Itsallabitstrange - they do confirm that a boy with that condition was almost cast in that film but I believe his health meant they decided not to go with him, I will try and find the article. I do think it is perfectly acceptable in that case.

I do accept that in Glee they may have been able to find someone to do an acceptable job but maybe out of the people (included some disabled people it is reported) the person to get the role was the best person for it. Lots of straight actors play gay parts, there are lots of gay actors but no one seems to ever comment on that. Where do we draw the line, the trouble is there are many people/organisations who are not inclusive it then makes us feel as if no one is.

If the best person always got the job or role then no one would mind surely. If someone who is disabled got a job just because they are disabled but not the best person for it, or if someone got a job just because they are able bodied and not actually the best person for it then that is completely wrong of course.

manic - there are lots of cases where that wouldn't work though. In particular The Theory of Everything as it isn't just the walking that is the issue with that but if they did what you are saying they could alter just about everything. I suspect they don't do this as it would come at a huge cost and there are actors that are available to play these parts as both able bodied and as disabled. I am not saying that is right or wrong, it's just how it is.

Minnie - I agree, I would expect the difficulty of getting acting roles as a disabled actor would put people off training for it as a job so like you say it's a vicious circle.

I have lived with a DS who has CP for the past 18 years. If an actor plays the part with respect then I am not particularly offended. I absolutely loved James McAvoy in the film 'Inside I'm dancing'. If I'm remembering correctly, his character had Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

This is absolutely my own pretty gross bias in place, but before watching RJ Mitte in breaking bad I don't think I'd come across a guy with a visible disability I'd found really attractive. Partly because I don't know many disabled people as friends (although two of my closest long term friends are disabled and use wheelchairs), but undoubtedly there must have been an element too of internalising the idea that people with disabilities are non sexual beings.

Anyway yeah, RJ Mitte is hot.

I've struggled with how to phrase this post as I feel like I'm on dodgy ground a bit but hopefully it comes across how I intended!

Case. In. Point. 😍

“but undoubtedly there must have been an element too of internalising the idea that people with disabilities are non sexual beings.”

I think this is honest and accurate. Partly because of the lack of disabled people in the public eye, all we see are charity adverts. The 2012 Paralympics did so much that film and TV failed to capitalise on.

And there is much education and discussion about racism (rightly) and unconscious bias, so much less about unconscious prejudice about disability,

It wants talking about.

R J Mitte was great in Breaking Bad and if I remember right, the fact that he has Cerebral Palsy only comes up once - when Walt mentions it to his therapist.

in Glee there were several scenes where Artie danced so presumably they knew that it was going to be part of the story.

This really annoys me when they show people with a disability dreaming of not being disabled. It's like they can never be good enough unless they manage to jump out of their wheelchair and start singing. It ends up being the whole focus of that character.

See the Hermione moaning in the Harry Potter play. It's never taken as read that that person was the best person for the job, they just happened to be black or asian.

I think that Hermione was a bit tougher, as it is whenever a well loved book character is brought to life on screen. People had spent years imagining the Harry Potter characters, and they also had the movie version to go on and then in 20 years she changed colour. I'm not saying that the actress shouldn't have been cast, but I think some people find it harder to suspend reality than others. Let's face it, some of the more extreme HP fans would have been unhappy with anyone other than Emma Watson playing the role.

"See the Hermione moaning in the Harry Potter play. It's never taken as read that that person was the best person for the job, they just happened to be black or asian."
But she wasnt necessarily the best person for the job. It wasnt a difficult part and really not difficult to pull off. She was chosen because she was black not because she was the best actress.

I just think it's about the right actor for that role. Having a disability isn't all there is to a character, the same as having a disability isn't all there is to someone's personality. Just because someone has the right disability does not mean they will be able to act the best for it surely.

McHale starred in the musical dramedy series Glee as Artie Abrams, a member of the McKinley High glee club with a physical disability. Although his character was in a wheelchair, McHale is a skilled dancer and has said that it is hard to keep his feet from moving along with the music while on the set.21 Mar 2016

easy to goodle and find....why? why couldn't a disabled person do this......????????
Sorry if someone has pointed this out but in some episodes he is daydreaming and he can dance in those scenes. So I'm assuming this is why they didn't use a disabled actor.

She was chosen because she was the best actress regardless of race

You are very naive if you believe that.

Dont get me wrong, I went to see Julius Caeser at the Bridge yesterday there were woman playing some of the male parts ie Michelle Fairley playing Cassius and Adjoa Andoh playing Casca. It was a brilliant production, but the Hermione Cursed Child just felt like a huge publicity stunt. I have seem Cursed Child twice with two different actresses playing Hermione, it was an intentional casting.

Sorry if someone has pointed this out but in some episodes he is daydreaming and he can dance in those scenes. So I'm assuming this is why they didn't use a disabled actor.

IMO this is the worst part of the character in Glee. Not only do they not cast a disabled actor, when there must be thousands of wheelchair users in the USA who can both act and sing (probably equally as well as Kevin McHale who was unexceptional in the role), but they then have the ridiculous "dream sequences" that he can walk and dance in. They are completely irrelevant to the plot and could easily have been done away with. I'm sure they were really heartening viewing for any disabled viewers.

I love the theatre strawberries, I went over 50 times last year, 3 times in the last week, saw lots of gender/race swapping as i said yesterday went to Julius Caeser with gender and race swapping, but the Cursed Child really doesnt feel right and was done for shock value.

IIRC Artie was disabled in a car accident so had been able to walk/dance previously. I can totally see a character daydreaming about "what if" in that scenario.

It should go on acting ability as to who gets the role. If the disabled actor and the able bodied actor had equal acting ability, then it should go to the disabled person first. If there is no one with a particular disability able to act to a high standard for that role then it should go to an able bodied person. In the case of some films where they have cast an able bodied person playing the lead role as a disabled person it's because they have wanted the big names and not wanted someone lesser known.

My industry is very pale and male but that’s mainly due to people traditionally following what their parents did. If there’s a good black candidate with genuine ability all the companies trip over each other fighting to get them. Disability is a bit different as it can have a negative business impact in some cases. Long periods of absence for example when people have a recurring condition

There has to be a large enough pool of actors and the ability and rewards to not only get into the pool of actors but stay there. Would there be enough work for a jobbing disabled actor. In the US there is a large contingent of British born black actors, many reckon due to opportunities that are given in theatres and TV in Britain compared to their US counterparts. The biggest barrier is opportunities in the route to the big roles to ensure when the big roles do come they will already have a portfolio.