Disability Becoming Part of Diversity Conversation in Hollywood

While Hollywood has made strides in the past year for the representation of marginalized communities in film and TV, one group has remained on the outskirts of the diversity conversation; people with disabilities.

But thanks to grassroots advocacy and a growing list of Hollywood stars getting behind the issue, change is happening. A recent Ruderman Family Foundation survey showed that over 20% of top show characters with disabilities on TV are played by actors with disabilities compared with only 5% in 2016. And the Foundation was also responsible this past week for bringing a host of A-list celebrities together in Beverly Hills to support their mission of advocating for the authentic representation of people with disabilities in the entertainment industry.

Larry David, Ted Danson, Cheryl Hines, Kevin Pollak and Ron Livingston were all in attendance as filmmakers Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly received the Morton E. Ruderman Award in Inclusion.

“This is not a victory lap. This is the beginning of something,” Peter Farrelly said. “This is a forgotten group of people. They have not gotten their time in the sun. You talk about diversity, and disability has to come next. They have to get their rights, they have to get in that door, people have to be seen…We’re aware of black and white, we’re aware of male and female, but we’re not aware of disability.”

The Farrelly brothers have been outspoken in lamenting Hollywood’s missed opportunity on casting actors from the largely untapped talent pool of people with disabilities. In 2018, Peter Farrelly co-wrote and directed the comedy-drama Green Book which won the Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay and earned the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. The Farrelly brothers have also been the screenwriters and directors for a wide range of famed motion pictures, including Dumb and Dumber, Kingpin, Hall Pass, Me, Myself & Irene, Shallow Hal, Stuck on You, Osmosis Jones, There’s Something About Mary, Fever Pitch, The Heartbreak Kid, The Three Stooges and Dumb and Dumber To.

“We’re not experts on the disability community,” Bobby Farrelly said. “We have included a lot of people with disabilities in our films and TV shows. We did it because that’s the world we know and we wanted to be true to it…Whatever we do for the disabled community, I’d say they’ve given a lot more back.”

The Ruderman Family Foundation’s ongoing efforts have served as a catalyst for advancing the needs of the historically underrepresented community of people with disabilities in film, media, theater and other artistic platforms. Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Mark Ruffalo, Olivia Munn and Eva Longoria are among the notable actors who have signed the Foundation's recent open letter which calls on Hollywood executives to create more opportunities for people with disabilities. Having been honored at the Media Access Awards last November with the SAG-AFTRA Disability Awareness Award, the Foundation was recently an official partner of the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, which featured the event’s first-ever public prioritization of the issue of disability inclusion.

“After glaringly leaving disability out of the conversation about diversity for far too long, Hollywood is now showing signs of fulfilling its immense potential for leadership in inclusion, social justice and civil rights,” said Jay Ruderman, President of the Ruderman Family Foundation. “Changemakers like the Farrelly brothers are indispensable players in efforts to shift the conversation and build momentum towards a more inclusive and authentic casting landscape. With the growing influence of such advocates, there is no limit to what Hollywood can achieve as a paradigm for inclusion in all of society.”