What will it take to get more disabled characters, and actors, on the big screen?

CBC

2 days ago

There were slightly more movie characters with disabilities on screen in 2024, according to a new report, but experts and advocates say that figure — and the quality of representation — are still sorely lacking.
Last year, 20 of the top 100 grossing films featured leading or co-leading characters with a disability, according to the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, a California-based think-tank studying diversity and inclusion in entertainment.
That's a big jump from 2023 when there were eight such films, and from 2015 when there were 10 movies in which characters had noticeable physical, cognitive or communicative disabilities.
But on the whole, 2024's data was far more stark — only 2.4 per cent of speaking or named characters in the top 100 movies had a disability, the same rate as in 2015, the report found.
That could mean, according to report author Stacy Smith, that the improvement among leading or co-leading characters is an anomaly that won't carry over into 2025.
"This suggests that the change is not driven by an authentic desire for inclusion and matched with strategies based in expertise. Instead, ad hoc decision-making is the reason for these increases," Smith said in a statement.
Disheartening, not surprising
Sean Towgood, a Canadian writer and actor (You're My Hero) who has cerebral palsy, says the findings are "disheartening," though not entirely surprising. He says there's a sense in the film and TV industry that producers or executives choose to tell some stories about disability occasionally, but then rest on their laurels.
"They just check a box and they're like, 'Well, we did that. We don't have to think about it for another 10 years, right?,'" Towgood said.
He says he thinks some producers assume it's more expensive and logistically challenging to hire actors who require accommodations such as accessible sets.
Jim LeBrecht, co-director of the 2020 Oscar-nominated Crip Camp, says accessibility — like any part of filming — does come with a price tag. But he says that the cost is worth it, especially given that accessible sets make life easier for everyone; a wheelchair ramp might also reduce the time it takes to move equipment around on set, for example.
Beyond that, LeBrecht says the perception that there's no audience for stories about disability remains in the industry, which limits the number of such projects that make it on screen.
"It's not because we're incompetent. It's not because we don't have good actors. It is because the road to getting us to have people who are box-office draws... is very, very limited," he said.
LeBrecht says those behind the camera are often afraid to take on projects that are "too outside the norm" even if they are good stories because they're afraid of losing money or their jobs if the project doesn't succeed.
Movies noted by the report include Madame Web, about the Marvel Comics character, who is blind for part of the film adaptation; Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, in which the title character has a prosthetic arm; and The Brutalist, in which the main character's wife uses a wheelchair.
But the report highlights characters, not actors. And if only a handful of the actors portraying characters with disabilities have disabilities themselves, that's not great representation, according to Beth Haller, co-director of the Global Alliance for Disability in Media and Entertainment.
"There may have been a blind person consulting but… if they're not going to hire a blind actress or actor, how is a blind actor or actress ever going to get the credits and the experience?" she said.
Madame Web star Dakota Johnson is not blind, for example, nor is Furiosa 's Anya-Taylor Joy missing a limb.
Too often, able-bodied actors in film and TV are cast to play such roles, says Ariel Simms, president and CEO of Disability Belongs, a non-profit that works to improve representation of people with disabilities in entertainment. One analysis found that more than 95 per cent of characters with a disability were played by an able-bodied actor.
And when able-bodied actors play disabled characters, that can lead to inauthentic or trope-heavy portrayals, Simms says — like a character with autism being portrayed as a socially awkward savant.
The best thing productions can do is hire people with disabilities — both on and off screen, and at every level — according to Simms.
"That can make a huge difference," Simms said. "Ultimately that leads to more authentic representation on screen, whether the story is about disability or not."
Their organization has worked with productions, such as Marvel's recent movie Eternals and the NBC show New Amsterdam, to help portray disability authentically on screen. For Eternals, for example, it worked with executives to help answer any questions they had about telling such stories. This can help avoid accidentally perpetuating outdated and harmful stereotypes, Simms says.
Towgood says another part of the solution is those in the industry being willing to "take a chance" on stories that touch on disability.
Movies like Coda are good examples of what happens when you tell quality stories about disability, Towgood says — they win Oscars. The film — about a teenager who is the only person in her family of four who can hear — won best picture and best adapted screenplay at the 2022 Oscars, and Troy Kotsur took home best supporting actor for his role.