In this combination photo, Marlee Matlin, from left, arrives at the 38th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards on June 19th, 2011 in Las Vegas, Millicent Simmonds arrives at the 24th annual Critics’ Choice Awards on Jan. 13, 2019, in Santa Monica, Calif., Danny Woodburn attends the premiere of “Dead Ant” on Oct. 10, 2017, in Los Angeles and Maysoon Zayid attends the Women’s Media Awards on Oct. 22, 2019, in New York. Matlin, Simmonds, Woodburn and Zayid are just a few of the Hollywood insiders who participated in a series of virtual panels Monday, Oct. 26, 2020, examining the state of disability representation in Hollywood. The series is hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in celebration of the 30th anniversary year of the Americans with Disabilities Act. (AP Photo)AP
SOURCE: Cleveland.com | Associated Press
Oct 27, 2020
It’s an old cliche that if an actor wants to win an Oscar, he or she should consider playing a character with a disability. And it’s not entirely unfounded advice: 61 actors have been nominated for playing a character with a disability and 27 have walked away winners. But only two of those actors actually had a disability — Marlee Matlin in “Children of a Lesser God” and Harold Russell in “The Best Years of Our Lives.”
That’s just one of the things that needs to change, according to a group of entertainment industry professionals with disabilities including actors Danny Woodburn, “A Quiet Place’s” Millicent Simmonds and “Peanut Butter Falcon’s” Zack Gottsagen.
