Film Academy Turns Attention to Actors With Disabilities
The Academy of Motion Picture is turning its attention to another underrepresented group: actors with disabilities.
(Bloomberg) -- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has been working to diversify its ranks and revamp the Oscar awards, is turning its attention to another underrepresented group: actors with disabilities.
In partnership with the Ruderman Family Foundation, the organization is adding actors with disabilities to the Academy Gold Program, an internship geared toward young actors who are minorities. The program will have 74 participants, nine of which are aspiring actors with disabilities.
For years, Hollywood has failed to put many actors with disabilities on screen. And that’s particularly glaring during the Academy Awards, which have frequently honored able-bodied actors for playing the role of a person with a physical or mental disability.
In fact, 78% of characters with disabilities are portrayed by non-disabled actors, a Ruderman study found. And people with disabilities are twice as likely to be unemployed compared with other Americans, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The situation also presents a financial opportunity, the Ruderman study found. An increase in representation could help tap $10.4 billion in spending power.
“Those most open to more and more accurate portrayals of persons with disabilities spend more on TV and movie entertainment than average,” according to the study. “They also constitute a strong base of potential spending.”
CBS and BBC are two of the only studios that have pledged to increase accurate portrayals of actors with disabilities.
The new partnership may help change the way Hollywood operates, Jay Ruderman, the foundation’s president, said in a statement. “Having more people with disabilities involved in front of and behind the camera will provide more opportunities, increase authentic representation on the screen and better represent the world around us.”
The program is set to begin virtually in late July, around the 30th anniversary of the enactment of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
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