Paula Sage
23/09/2005
Star of the critically acclaimed Brit film 'Afterlife' and BBC Scotland's soap 'River City', Paula has announced her new role as an ambassador for UK learning disability charity Mencap. 25 year old Paula Sage is a rising star in cinema.She also has Down's Syndrome and made movie and soap history by becoming one of the first actors to land leading roles playing characters who, like herself, have a learning disability. Traditionally such parts have gone to actors without disabilities, like Dustin Hoffman in Rainman and Daniel Day Lewis in My Left Foot.
MENCAP
Paula will join Mencap's other celebrity ambassadors, who include Will Young, Christopher Eccleston and Jo Whiley, in helping the charity increase public understanding of what learning disability is, challenging discriminatory attitudes, and championing the rights of people with a learning disability, their families and carers.
MENCAP
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Mencap works with people with a learning disability and their families and carers, fighting to end discrimination and prejudice, and providing a wide range of quality services
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There are around 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK
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Learning disabilities have many different causes but are always lifelong. A learning disability can affect someone's life in many ways, causing difficulties in communicating or doing everyday things. A learning disability does not prevent someone from learning and achieving a lot in life, if given the right support.
Paula on Afterlife
Director Alison Peebles reportedly contacted numerous disabled people's groups to find the perfect person to fill the role before happening upon Paula after a recommendation from a local drama group manager. Paula had no previous acting experience, so a round of intense auditions followed. "One or two were nerve-wracking, but then it was alright. They liked me, they liked my sense of humour," She had no problems learning the script on her own and once on set had a drama coach to go through scenes to discuss what emotions were required of her.
On several occasions she got so into the part that she ended up improvising, shouting "ya beauty" at the top of her lungs and throwing her hands in the air when Roberta speeds up the road in the sidecar of her brother's motorbike. And despite worries that she would not be able to fake tears for an intense scene where Roberta overhears her mother and brother discussing her future - Paula herself has never cried - she managed it by thinking about the death of her Bee Gees idol, Maurice Gibb.
"I'm more independent than my character. Her mother is always with her," she explains.
Paula bagged a fistful of awards for her performance in Afterlife, including a Bafta for 'Best Actress'. The film won the Edinburgh Film Festival Audience Award in 2003.
Parents
Her parents, Alan and Mary, are more hilosophical. "We don't know what the future holds. Paula's got an agent now, but it'll probably be harder for her (than for other actors)," her mother says. "Paula's agent has a boy with cerebral palsy on her books who's fantastic but she can't get him a job. There are a lot of groups of people with learning difficulties doing serious stage stuff but it depends if people become aware of them."
Alan her father is a University lecturer and acts as her chaperone at many media do's.
Special Olympics
Paula leads an active life. She attends a social club on Mondays, plays netball on Tuesdays, goes to a sports club and religious group on Wednesdays and a drama club on Fridays.
This year Paula has become an Olympic medallist winning silver for netball at this year's Special Olympics in Glasgow. "I love my netball. I would have liked the gold, although silver is good too. It was awesome."