Hollywood Actors: Does Size Matter as Much as a Disability?

Is Hollywood more open to heavier actors as well as actors with a disability? The answer I believe is yes, though overweight actors have always been the object of ridicule, with more reality television such as the "Biggest Loser," "Extreme Makeover" and the "Revolution." I feel casting directors are opening up to the fact of having more overweight people on TV.

Though not all scripts are written for overweight actors and Hollywood does look at the smaller sizes, obese actress Gabourey Sidibe won an Oscar in 2010 for Best Actress nomination for portraying an overweight inner-city teenager in the film “Precious.”

With locations in Burbank and Bakersfield, Calif., Joey Travolta runs a program called Inclusion Films Workshop which provides adults with developmental disabilities an introduction to film production.

If you have watched "Life Goes On" with Kelly Martin, she has a brother with down syndrome in the show whose name is Corky. Since then he has a band and has went on to lead a full life. Some celebrities have children with autism or a developmental delay but not all are open to publicly come out about it.

Joey Travolta's program gives children and adults a chance to enter the workforce in the entertainment industry, which I think is a great idea.