Alex Brooker On Why We Need More Disabled Actors | The Last Leg

Alex Brooker discusses the need for more disabled representation in films and television.
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[@ashleyd9310]

everything alex said is absolutely bang on. when I became disabled I was rejected by everyone at school. I was completely isolated and the only thing that kept me sane was Geordie La Forge from star trek. media representation is vital to normalizing disability. we also have to speak up about harmful depictions as well. the trope of a person standing up from a wheelchair to reveal it was all fake literally got someone killed. the stories we tell influence audiences. additionally, abled actors playing disabled characters creates a distinct lack of accuracy and make careers more difficult for disabled actors like me.

[@TheLadyDelirium]

I agree with what you said. I wish you the best in your future acting career.

[@henhenhen19]

I agree with Alex completely, even more as I'm a disabled actor myself. I've focused on projects further away from classic theatre work because the hurdles of casting and the obsession for all kinds of symmetry makes it... very uninspiring. Even when directors and producers talk extensively about representation of age, class, gender, race, language... One has to remind them about disability, in a way that feels like I'm their parent trying to keep them from losing their mittens on the tube. But I hope that Alex and the Last Leg realize that They are creating the opportunity he is mentioning, as well. There is a generation growing up now, with representation on the screen, and it's thanks to The Last Leg. This show is a bright light in a dark sky.

[@HighTen_Melanie]

Congrats Adam on making £10,100 on the Brexit Beard 🧔🏻 Great that you are helping Australian bushfire relief with the proceeds.

[@DomWeasel]

I was in the supermarket once and tripped on a man's foot and because I was wearing steel-capped boots, I apologised because I may have tripped on his stuck out foot but with those boots, I could have done some damage. I apologised, he apologised. And then I realised the foot I had struck with my boot was a prosthetic; the man's leg was gone below the knee. And I thought 'Huh' and was about to move on when this old lady chimed in that I 'could have seriously hurt this disabled man'. Now, he had already been moving away. The two of us had had a simple jostle that any two people could have had and the fact he had a prosthetic was inconsequential. But when the old woman called him disabled, it touched a nerve. A very raw nerve. I had treated him like anyone else but she had singled him out just because of his leg. And he just laid into her about it, about her treating him like he should have been coated in bubble wrap and me being perfectly polite, and I was just stood there awkwardly. Then when the staff came over, they didn't know who to side with; the little old lady or the man with an artificial leg. They didn't know who to coddle. If that lady hadn't said anything, I would have no story to tell. It would just be 'tripped on a man's foot in the supermarket, we apologised, continued shopping' which is no story at all. Which is all that man wanted from life.

[@ThurstonCyclist]

One of my favorite performances by a disabled person is Marlee Matlin in The West Wing, because her disability was completely incidental. Her deafness was never a part of the plot.

[@ilurvsharrypotter]

Yes!

[@alightvlogging]

about the only disabled actors that have been successful have had dwarfism such as David Rappaport or Peter Dinklage and even then they have had silly or demeaning roles that just played off their disability. It would be great to see more diverse roles for disabled actors where their particular disability was purely incidental.

[@analogdistortion]

Isn't it good to make light of some the aspects of us that we usually feel ashamed of though? If you deem the disability to be so negative that you should just avoid the issue and not joke about it then doesn't that make the issue more serious than it would be given what would normally happen under natural social circumstances where we play with a bit of banter and poke fun at our differences to eachother? It's not like we can't or don't learn from being children unless these kind of things never happen and then you get isolated unsocialised sensitive people that never fully develop into able human beings that can handle other people when they truly are trying to be nasty to them and make them feel weak. Maybe taking that away from people has made these far lefty "progressive" types extra sensitive, even to the extreme of them having anxiety and all sorts of issues when usually it would be water off a duck's back!

[@grimTales1]

What about Warwick Davis? An excellent speech, but I think a disabled actor should get the job because theyre the best actor not just because of their disability.

[@RaggisMaggis]

@@grimTales1 The point though, is that there is unnaturally few on screen. Disabled stories are not told, and as they say here, they are underrepresented as extras too. So in movie world, they almost don't exist. Actors are not given a job because they deserve it, or they are the best, but because they are the best who fit the role.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

Marlee Matlin won the Oscar for Best Actress as a deaf woman. She has been playing a role on the TV show called "The Magicians" in which her deafness is purely incidental.

[@SuLokify]

@@analogdistortion I sort of agree with that sentiment, and sort of don't. The problem is that dwarfism has a sort of traditional role as an object of ridicule - people have been laughing at (not with) the vertically challenged for centuries, and it's hard not to make that association even in everyday life. These are human beings just like everyone else and they deserve better than our prejudice. The role of clown or jester serves to reinforce those stereotypes. Characters like Tyrion remind us of their humanity.

[@youdontneedtoknow7624]

More disabled actors playing characters whose disability is neither their entire personality or central to the plot is what’s needed. Normalise disabled people on screen by giving them roles that don’t revolve around their disability.

[@ai2802]

As a young disabled actor I completely agree with this. Its hard for any actor to find work. Even harder for a disabled one...

[@SuLokify]

There's a beautiful animated drama called "A Silent Voice" in English. In this film, one of the characters is deaf, and (in the English dub) is played by a deaf voice actress. The film also touches on mental and social conditions/issues such as depression, illiteracy, bullying, and homelessness without being overly "woke" or preachy. Just thought I'd make a recommendation to anyone interested in the subject matter.

[@Salena905]

Thanks will check it out.👍

[@ace_atomic3023]

Have acc seen this and it's very good. An excellent recommendation

[@aylanganeko1371]

I totally agree!!! My god brother has started a voice acting channel Zac Dollar Voice Ninja and an old school mate, Adam Bowes, is an amazing actor regardless of his disability. Is given more big scr3en opportunities these are just some examples of people who would carry the responsibility of being representatives with passion

[@heidisalfeld8715]

Well said Alex

[@morganbailey3231]

I am 21 and have ASD and Asthma and want to become an actor.

[@Kaitkstokes]

Yeah it's worrying how little representation and of the ones that are there silent witness and sex education are the only roles that come to mind where someone just has a disability and it doesn't define their character or role on the show and that's horrific that it's that love of a number. Sure there are others but there should be equal representation for all walks of life no matter who they are or how they look

[@jimmythemadostrich8947]

Yeah, totally agree Alex👍, but maybe one day soon we'll be at a point in time where we won't even have to make such obvious points followed by somewhat patronising applause.

[@RIXRADvidz]

after the Last Leg, will Alex progress into Politics? stay tuned to find out....

[@jimmythemadostrich8947]

No.

[@luvhart]

Well said Alex👍🏻

[@Salena905]

Dwarfism is the only thing I remember seeing on TV and then they were in SciFi or fantasy stuff, or as clowns on a variety show they did have down syndrome on TV, but not much, The only other disabled people is in horror films like zombie films etc with limbs coming off etc. Anyone in a wheelchair was played by non disabled actors, oh and one or two deaf or blind people ( whom you weren't sure were really blind) were on certain shows, but not for long. It's 2020 , you'd think they'd be more actors on TV and films.

[@TheGFeather]

Forget disability, it's impossible for a person wearing glasses to be anything but a scientist or an ugly duckling/nerd in film or TV. I get that lighting glasses on camera can be a real pain in the ass, so that's part of why it's not more common, but it's frustrating that even something as ordinary as that doesn't get adequately represented. I would love to see more 'everyday' sorts of people in film and TV. One of my favourite series was Waiting For God from back in the 90s. It wasn't perfect, by any means, but it made older people the main characters, canes and zimmers and all. There were at least a few minorities represented and the younger cast members were average sorts of people, not supermodels. I wish we saw more of that.

[@jimmythemadostrich8947]

Yes I can confirm that since getting my first pair of prescription glasses last Wednesday , I am now fully equipped in both the theory and practice of quantum physics and all that it encompasses!

[@clown-eating-hippo]

"Forget disability." That's precisely what everyone is trying to do, by minimizing their media presence. -_-

[@af98]

I'm pretty sure I've seen loads of shows where the main characters wear glasses.

[@jameshickey100]

I do agree with you Alex

[@karenolsen5676]

Amen to all of that! :)

[@MrAlex173]

Only disabled actor I knew was on TV was Radar, on M*A*S*H

[@DokkaChapman]

Wait... Liz Carr's leaving Silent Witness?! Noooooo, I really liked her! :'(

[@adde9506]

I think a major factor here is just sheer numbers. How many disabled people are good actors pursuing a career in acting? Sure, it would be great to have more disabled people on screen, whether in designed roles or roles where their disability is incidental, but I think this is a rather different conversation than roles for other groups. Even more so because many of the most common disabilities don't lend themselves well to the screen. Could you have learning disabled characters and actors? Absolutely, but it's going to be a fairly particular storyline that spends enough time with it for a young person to identify with. And another major category of disability are age-related problems. Not that they shouldn't be represented, but the over 60 set aren't becoming actors, they're retiring. On top of that, many characters don't start off disabled, making the transition from able to disabled is part of their story. Which makes having a disabled person play them far less likely to be possible. Then you have to consider the requirements of the character; what work do they do, and would a disability preclude them from that work? That certainly doesn't mean that the actor couldn't have a disability, but it does limit what it can be and whether or not the character can share it. To be clear, I always prefer diversity. I would love to see more disabled actors and characters. I just think that in this case it's far more complicated than pointing out that there are some number of people and saying they should be proportionately represented. When you're talking about race, it's pretty much that simple. This time, it's not.

[@SamRichardson-adventures]

Well said I am trying to write a disability web show

[@jimmythemadostrich8947]

If it doesn't include disabled ostriches I'm not interested!

[@TVFILMBUFF]

I wonder if there are a much larger representation of disabled people in movies than Alex realises but their disability isn't the focus of their role and therefore doesn't get telegraphed to the audience. Then there are actors like Gary Burghoff who played Radar O'Reilly in M*A*S*H. He actively hid his disability on the show... whether that be as part of the shyness of Radar, the character's position in the army or just not wanting his hands to be the main point of his story arcs.

[@adde9506]

Radar wouldn't have been allowed in the army if he shared Burghoff's hand configuration. Although, I question whether or not Burghoff considers himself disabled. He's a fantastic drummer and certainly had a good acting career. I think Alex may also be making the mistake of identifying disability more narrowly than the government does. I sincerely doubt he's considering the mass of people who can't stand for long periods of time or walk long distances when he's talking about disabled representation.

[@lizziebooth5397]

Maybe that's his point...if you have to go back before the average person was born to find a reference or it's so rare that the example that comes to mind is 40+ yearsd old...that's an issue

[@ginny9577]

@@lizziebooth5397 exactly.. my first time seeing any disabled person on television was the show The Facts of Life when they would have a handful of episodes with Jeri Jewell on as Blair;s cousin. that show is about 30 years old.. something has to change somewhere

[@lizziebooth5397]

@@ginny9577 noticed in Locke and Keys on Netflix there's a character with prosthetic legs. No one mentions it...it's great

[@bex5749]

I’m so sad about liz Carr leaving

[@Salena905]

Me too, an inspirational actor. ❤

[@TheGreenpetal]

If you have normal mind it is much easier if one has a disability. Imagine my daughter who has mild learning disability with turners syndrome and now Epilepsy. Who would ever hire her to sing as that is what she wants to do...……….she doesn't look disabled but she is...…...

[@kaigreen5641]

I'm a professional musician, you would likely be shocked how many of us have serious mental health issues, learning disabilities, aspergers/autism etc. If your girl wants to be a singer, and she has the talent and work ethic, there is no reason she wouldn't get work.

[@TheGreenpetal]

@@kaigreen5641Thanks...…. she can only sing slow songs but was voice trained and stuck to it for 10 years...…….a bit slower at learning. she also needs help to remember the words of a song...….. She like Eva Cassidy and Ella Fitzgerald…………Thanks you have made me feel better...……..

[@ashfuller3480]

Alex and I are the same age and he must never have watched Grange Hill growing up because there was a disabled girl on the show

[@createinspain]

Completely agree, the disabled are totally unrepresented in many areas but VERY minority minorities get. a higher representation.

[@KermitFrogThe]

You mean Patrick Stewart doesn't need that wheelchair?

[@jerryslayer]

is the reason there is a lack of disabled people in "movies" or on TV (and BTW there are plenty on TV) is the fact that you need to be a good actor first and your disability is secondary

[@analogdistortion]

Maybe the circumstances of being disabled hinders ones ability to act? I can imagine that being disabled must impact a persons self confidence. That of which is probably one of the biggest helpers to an actor. I wouldn't know because I'm not an actor but I don't think a shy introverted type is the perfect example of your average actor that runs around on stage doing all sorts of things on camera on demand without wanting to switch jobs.

[@adde9506]

They also have to be interested in acting to begin with. I think actors forget that lots of people grow up wanting to be teachers and pilots and lots of things that aren't acting. There are many more people who actually do the things the actors portray than there are actors portraying them.

[@DougHanchard]

NottingHill prominently did so...

[@RaggisMaggis]

And that is only 21 years ago.

[@DougHanchard]

@@RaggisMaggis The point, Josh and Alex believed high profile British films never represented disabled in a positive role.

[@TheDrugOfTheNation]

Do you mean the deaf character in Four Weddings and A Funeral?

[@DougHanchard]

@@TheDrugOfTheNation No, the character Bella, acted by Gina McKee, who plays a solicitor that is disabled after a car accident and confined to a wheel chair.

[@DougHanchard]

@@RaggisMaggis Do I have to mention the most famous to date? Nottinghill is only one of many. How about Sir Patrick Stewart, as Professor Charles Xavier in a wheelchair in the X-Men series?

[@amyclarke41]

ok

[@Saje3D]

I’d like to see someone option Lois McMaster Bujold’s Vorkosigan Saga. The main character has a double disability, in a sense, as an attack that poisoned him in the womb left him stunted and fragile. Plus he’s bipolar and full of idiosyncratic reactions to different drugs. It’s also solid socially aware military science fiction, so there’s that. It’s pretty much got something for everyone. Except actual aliens. They’re in short supply. If I were being honest, I think the British might actually do it more justice than most American studios, if only because you all still appreciate wit in a way I swear many Americans do not. And a sense of the absurd I think we often lack. A disabled son of a great military leader fails out of basic training and accidentally becomes a great military leader while traveling off-planet. Miles, at least in his manic phases, could talk a tusk off a live elephant while galloping full speed alongside on a zebra. He’s not exactly a great warrior himself, though he does okay with the right gear. Miles is just good at making the right friends. And then talking them into things they’d otherwise be too smart to do. Miles is lucky, it’s true. But he’s mostly just tactically brilliant. Personally I find the in-universe controversy over the use of so-called “uterine replicators” to be a not quite oblique reference to the United States’ own issues with female autonomy. Here I am writing a mini review. I just think it’s doable and worth doing. And Bujold is a beloved American author of both SF and fantasy.

[@Jaxs5]

Imo drama schools need to accept a wider range of people, not just able bodied. People with disabilities need actor training to. Level the playing field.

[@ashokbabuasp]

Disabled people are never working in Showbiz... Writers very very rarely brings in a disabled character in storytelling.. Maybe entertainment industry avoid disability as weird or something 🙏

[@sephychan21]

well nobody wants to watch a goblin in a wheelchair....

[@hawfcut2394]

Why does race, gender or disability matter? Is there something wrong with 'The best person for the job' ? If you think to make it right you need to shoe-horn in people of X category, you might just be an ist or a phobe. Things should be done and earned on merit, not because someone somewhere might be offended if you don't get it based on some characteristic you visibly have.

[@saoirsedeltufo7436]

Did you bother watching this? Alex fully explains why it matters

[@hawfcut2394]

@@saoirsedeltufo7436 Did you even read my comment? I fully explained why it doesn't.

[@saoirsedeltufo7436]

Hawf Cut your comment was redundant. No-one is suggesting not casting on merit. Just saying please don’t overlook actors just because they’re disabled, and write stories that include disabled people

[@SojiNanjo]

First^^

[@typemasters2871]

I feel like there should be more disabled actors on tv and film but they should act for characters that are made for them, meaning there should be more disabled characters. Disabled characters shouldn’t act as characters who are against or belittle the disability the actor or actress has or even act as a character who can do stuff that the disabled actor or actress can’t do, the exception being that the character is being self hatred, being hypocritical, or wants to do something that they inherently can’t because of their disability. I.E. a character in a wheelchair shouldn’t be cast as an able bodied boxer, but them hating themselves for being disabled because it means they can’t box or they are determined to be a boxer despite being in a wheelchair are acceptable characters for those wheelchair bound actors or actresses to preform as.

[@analogdistortion]

Hating themselves? Why such a negative attitude? Surely it would be better to portray people that are disabled as people that can still enjoy their lives?

[@typemasters2871]

analogdistortion True, and I agree that characters that disabled actors act should be more positive but there are valid stories where a disabled character might start hating themselves for the disability but ends up accepting and being positive about their disability at the end of a story

[@megansmith1993]

You've made some interesting points. But I wonder whether there's ever been a character brief (in television, film, etc.) where it's explicitly asked for an able-bodied actor to play an able-bodied character. I can't imagine so, otherwise that would be covert discrimination. In which case, surely it's open for anyone to audition for any role. And the role should go to the actor who had the best interpretation of the character in the audition, regardless of ability/race/sexuality or any other characteristic.

[@analogdistortion]

@@megansmith1993 Yes, everyone just needs to relax on ability/race/sexuality/etc. The left seems to have made such an issue out of these things and it seems to have backfired. Back when nobody really talked about race/sex/etc and we had phased out of old attitudes nobody cared what you were and we all had a more individualistic attitude. Bringing back this group mentality where everybody is talked of as a "white male" or "speaking as a gay woman of colour" etc just drives everyone to think like they belong to segregated groups instead of all just being simply 'people'. I absolutely hate it, it is so ridiculously stupid and so does everyone else that are against the 'progressive' left but they still refuse to see it.

[@analogdistortion]

I know that was a bit of a rant but yes basically OF COURSE the role should go to the best person that can fulfil the role, without a shadow of a doubt!

[@bremCZ]

Plenty of Ewoks in Star Wars.

[@analogdistortion]

14 million disabled out of 65 million? No.

[@jonsisson6680]

All we need more mongs and shit jokes