cripping-up

Disability portrayal, whether it is authentic or incidental,{{Cite web |title=The Case for Authentic Disability Representation in Media |url=https://www.scholarsandstorytellers.com/blog/diversity-in-hollywood-the-case-for-authentic-disability-representation-in-film-and-tv |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Center for Scholars & Storytellers @ UCLA |language=en-US}} focuses on cultural markers that show the audience a character has trait, need or condition without having to state what the condition is. Traits or needs are aspects of a character a writer or director may identify without stating what the cause is, because the cause my not be central to the story. When stories are about historical figures their conditions are often well documented.{{Cite web |title=Notable Disabled People – Disability Social History Project |url=https://disabilityhistory.org/people/ |access-date=2024-12-28 |website=disabilityhistory.org}}

Fictional characters can be less obvious and often disability characteristics are described rather than the writer medically naming specific conditions. This can be seen in plays like The Metamorphosis where the changing into a bug, the main character has difficulty interfacing with a world that is neither designed for him or accepting of him, which are core to understanding what is referred to as the disability lived experience.{{Cite web |date=2021-09-20 |title=Exploring the everyday lives of disabled people |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exploring-the-everyday-lives-of-disabled-people |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=GOV.UK |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=What is disability discrimination? |url=https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/advice_information/what-is-disability-discrimination/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |website=Liberty |language=en-GB}}

The works of Samuel Beckett use literal disability as a metaphor to explore ideas of hopelessness, dependency and autonomy, but the characters such as Winnie and Willie in Happy Days, Pozzo and Estragon in Waiting for Godot, and Hamm, Clov, Nagg and Nell in Endgame, all have physical disability characteristics. In her book, Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance, author Hannah Simpson reveals how Beckett's theatre compulsively interrogates alternative embodiments, unexpected forms of agency, and the extraordinary social interdependency of the human body.{{Cite book |last=Simpson |first=Hannah |title=Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance |date=2022 |publisher=Springer International Publishing AG |isbn=978-3-031-04132-7 |edition=1st |series=New Interpretations of Beckett in the Twenty-First Century Series |location=Cham}}

Being creative is about making interesting choices. Having an actor who is disabled play either a disable role or a role that is not scripted as disabled is always an interesting choice as it changes the relationship with the audience, knowing the visible condition being seen isn’t an act challenges the audiences own preconceptions about disability. Because Ableism, negative unconscious biases and patronising attitudes towards disabled people in general exist, these add layers to an audience experience a non-disabled actor can’t access. As Ford-Williams once said, “putting a disabled person on a stage is a postmodernist act in itself.”

Academic and performer Jessie Parrot coined the phrase, “the cure of the curtain call,” highlighting this change of relationship between a production and an audience going beyond the final bow and having a deeper impact beyond just one of entertainment.

Despite there being Representation and Inclusion Standards{{Cite web |date=2024-07-17 |title=Representation and Inclusion Standards {{!}} Oscars.org {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url=https://www.oscars.org/awards/representation-and-inclusion-standards |access-date=2025-03-23 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}} published by the Academy for use in the Oscars, having a section on representation 'A3. Main storyline/subject matter', there is no guidance on authenticity and discrimination in the casting process. Disabled roles have been played by non-disabled actors going back to the silent era, with films like The Penalty in 1920, and City Lights 1931 and Frankenstein 1931, being early examples where non-disabled actors played disabled character on-screen.

There were few disabled actors before the 1990s available to play authentic or incidental roles, and the few examples were mostly covered by only 6 actors;

• Esmond Knight,{{Cite web |title=Esmond Knight |url=http://www.esmondknight.org.uk/ |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=Esmond Knight |language=en}} was blinded during a sea battle in WW2 and went back to he pre-war profession of acting. He played bot sighted and vision impaired roles appearing in all three of Laurence Olivier's Shakespeare films, as well as appearing as the captain of HMS Prince of Wales in Sink the Bismark!, where he served in WW2 and lost his sight in the battle the film portrayed. Other notable appearances were in Elizabeth R, I, Claudius and Superman IV, The Quest for Peace
• Lionel Barrymore contended with various disabling physical conditions throughout his life, but had a successful stage and screen career, appearing in films such as It's a Wonderful Life and Key Largo
• Harold Russell, after losing his hands during his military service, Russell was cast in the epic drama film The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), which earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1947
• Marlee Maitlin, was the first Deaf actress to feature in a mainstream movie and won the Academy Award for Best Actress in the process, Children of a Lesser God and CODA{{Cite web |date=2022-03-28 |title=Opinion {{!}} 'CODA' could usher in a whole new era for Hollywood |url=https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/coda-s-oscars-win-should-mark-end-actors-being-rewarded-n1293439 |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=MSNBC.com |language=en}}
• Donald Gray, starred in the lead role as the one armed detective Mark Saber in the 1950s TV drama The Vise
• Peter Falk who was vision impaired and had a glass eye, starred as the much loved detective Columbo

Historically the majority of disabled roles went to non-disabled actors{{Cite web |title=My Left Foot director backs calls for actors to stop 'cripping up' and would cast disabled actor in Daniel Day-Lewis' role if film was made today |url=https://news.sky.com/story/my-left-foot-director-i-would-cast-disabled-actor-in-daniel-day-lewis-role-if-film-was-made-today-12336232 |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Sky News |language=en}} but with more disabled actors available, the number of instances of cripping-up has decreased with the majority of disabled characters being authentically cast:

• Wicked (The movie) 2024. After 20 years of stage productions where Nessarose was played by non-disabled actors, the movie has tackled this by casting Marissa Bode and Cesily Collette Taylor (as a child) in the role, both of whom are wheelchair users.{{Cite web |date=2024-11-26 |title=Wicked rights a long-standing wrong of the musical |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a63007338/wicked-nessarose-disabled-representation/ |access-date=2024-11-27 |website=Digital Spy |language=en-GB}}
• Echo 2023 to 2024 by Marvel, cast Alaqua Cox as the main role, who is also Deaf{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=qCJhBWC6YYB99FVg&v=KhGvsaN5GKA&feature=youtu.be |title=Marvel's ECHO Alaqua Cox Panel – Awesome Con 2024 |date=2024-03-21 |last=Fandom Spotlite |access-date=2024-09-24 |via=YouTube}}
• Shardlake 2024 by Disney cast Arthur Hughes, a physically disabled actor in the lead role. Arthur said in an interview about the series that Shardlake's disability was, "the least interesting thing about him."{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=vc57FAPEQzHwescO&v=MQJHqNwh8dY&feature=youtu.be |title=Arthur Hughes puts 'Shardlake' in the spotlight |date=2024-04-29 |last=Associated Press |access-date=2024-09-24 |via=YouTube}}
• The Hardacres 2024 on cast Zak Ford-Williams as Harry Hardacre,{{Cite web |title=The Hardacres director didn't want to "play fast and loose" with historical accuracy {{!}} Radio Times |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/hardacres-director-historical-accuracy-newsupdate/ |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=www.radiotimes.com |language=en-GB}} the youngest son who has Little's Disease
• Bridgerton, Season 3 2024, introduced two new characters, Lady Stowell who is Deaf is played by Sophie Wooley,{{Cite web |last=Park |first=Anna |date=2024-06-25 |title=Bridgerton special with Lady Stowell |url=https://www.signature.org.uk/bridgerton-special-with-lady-stowell/ |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=Signature |language=en-US}} and Lord Remington{{Cite web |title='Bridgerton' season 3 captures disability, neurodiversity in regency era |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/bridgerton-season-3-uplifts-disability-neurodiversity-explore-lgbtq/story?id=110980876 |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=ABC News |language=en}} who uses a bath chair played by Zak Ford-Williams who is a wheelchair user
• The Fall of the House of Usher 2023 featured Ruth Codd who is an actor and amputee, as Juno{{Cite web |last=Kelley |first=Aidan |date=2023-10-18 |title='The Fall of the House of Usher's Most Underrated Character Gives the Show a Beacon of Hope |url=https://collider.com/fall-of-the-house-of-usher-juno-ruth-codd/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=Collider |language=en}}
• All The Light We Cannot See{{Cite web |title=Anthony Don't: On Blindness and the Portrayal of Marie-Laure in All the Light We Cannot See |url=https://nfb.org/sites/default/files/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm17/bm1707/bm170708.htm |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=nfb.org}} 2023, authentically cast Aria Mia Loberti as blind teenager Marie-Laure
• Ralph and Katie{{Cite web |date=2022-10-17 |title=Ralph and Katie: Disability Content's Coming of Age - Disability Arts Online |url=https://disabilityarts.online/magazine/reviews/ralph-and-katie-disability-contents-coming-of-age/ |access-date=2024-12-12 |website=disabilityarts.online/ |language=en-US}} 2022 was a spin-off series from The A-Word by Tiger Aspect and the main roles are played by Sarah Gordy and Leon Harrop who are actors with Downs Syndrome

To illustrate the extent of cripping-up on screen and the movement away from the practice, these are the instances of disability casting for superheroes and super villains.

This genre of storytelling is littered with characters who are disabled and have had to overcome barriers, then face more barriers because of stigma, attitudes and prejudice towards difference. A core theme of X-Men is otherness, and it dives deeply into different types of prejudice.

There are over 100 characters in the combined DC and Marvel who have physical, sensory or other apparent disabilities, many have yet to make an appearance on-screen. This list focuses on live action productions and identifies what roles have been cast authentically in terms of disability characteristic, and which have been played by non-disabled actors, purely as an example of how widespread cripping-up has been. This is not a reflection on the choices made by the actors as historically there has been less awareness and historically there have been fewer actors with disabilities.

Disabled characters in stage plays have a longer history stretching as far back as Tiresias in Oedipus, by Sophocles. There are many disabled historical disabled figures as well as disabled fictional characters such as Laura in The Glass Menagerie, Meshak Gardiner in Coram Boy, Colin in The Secret Garden, Captain Ahab in Moby Dick, Barquentine in Gormenghast or The Monster in Frankenstein, that whom, up until recently, have not been accessible to disabled actors. Like film and television, this has changed with mainstream theatre companies casting more disabled actors and enabling the disabled community to reclaim their stories.{{Cite news |last=Pepper |first=Penny |date=2019-01-09 |title=Is it ever OK for non-disabled actors to play disabled roles? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/shortcuts/2019/jan/09/is-it-ever-ok-for-non-disabled-actors-to-play-disabled-roles |access-date=2024-09-23 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}

Before the 1900s disabilities were more commonplace due to wars, poor healthcare and work related injuries, with disabled people playing active roles in society.{{Cite web |title=Medieval Disability Sourcebook: Western Europe – punctum books |url=https://punctumbooks.com/titles/medieval-disability-sourcebook/ |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=punctumbooks.com |language=en-US}} In royalty and nobility disabled people were visible, an example being such as Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, whom like Richard III had scoliosis. Disabled people played important roles at court,{{Cite web |title=Disability in the medieval period 1050-1485 {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/disability-history/1050-1485/ |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}} such as The Fool, who was often someone with a learning, cognitive or physical disability such as cerebral palsy, and there are clues to this with the Fool being named "Gobbo", in the Merchant of Venice, which was an offensive Italian word for Hunchback. Other times references are more direct characters being referred to as “deformed”,{{Cite web |title=ShakespearesWords.com |url=https://www.shakespeareswords.com/Public/Searchresults.aspx?search=deformed&WholeWordSearch=False |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=www.shakespeareswords.com}} “cripple”,{{Cite web |title=ShakespearesWords.com |url=https://www.shakespeareswords.com/Public/Searchresults.aspx?search=cripple&WholeWordSearch=True |access-date=2025-01-08 |website=www.shakespeareswords.com}} “sick” or “monstrous", such as the mention of Katherina's impairment, "Why does the world report that Kate doth limpe?, or references to "palsy" in Henry VI Part 2, Richard II and Troilus and Cressida, "And with a palsy fumbling on his gorget".

Based on the scripts and historical evidence there are disability signifiers for 26 characters in 19 plays.

Jesters were often people who had a particular level of privilege, but who also had learning, cognitive or physical disabilities, and so disability casting is considered historically accurate.{{Cite web |title=The King's Fools - Disability in the Tudor Court {{!}} Historic England |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/research/inclusive-heritage/disability-history/1485-1660/disability-in-the-tudor-court/ |access-date=2025-01-05 |website=historicengland.org.uk |language=en}}

The following characters are identified as fools.

• Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing
• Falstaff in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2
• Feste in Twelfth Night – the "wise fool
• Grumio in The Taming of the Shrew
• Lavache in All's Well That Ends Well
• Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream
• Pompey in Measure for Measure
• Puck in A Midsummer Night's Dream – Jester to the fairy king, Oberon
• The Fool in King Lear
• The Gravediggers in Hamlet
• The Porter in Macbeth
• Thersites in Troilus and Cressida
• Touchstone in As You Like It
• Trinculo in The Tempest

A role that has been at the forefront of the Theatre and Disability movement is the Duke of Gloucester/The King in Shakespeare's play Richard III.{{Cite web |title=Should only disabled actors play Shakespeare's Richard III? |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/should-only-disabled-actors-play-shakespeares-richard-iii-michelle-terry-arthur-hughes-adjoa-andoh-tom-mothersdale |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=The Stage |language=En}} This is not because the king himself had scoliosis,{{Cite web |title=Scoliosis {{!}} Richard III: Discovery and identification |url=https://le.ac.uk/richard-iii/identification/osteology/scoliosis |access-date=2024-12-28 |website=University of Leicester |language=en}} which is exaggerated in the play,{{Cite web |date=2014-05-30 |title=Richard III's 'Hunchback' Was Exaggerated By Shakespeare (PICTURES) |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/05/30/king-richard-iii-hunchback-exaggerated-william-shakespeare-pictures_n_5416468.html |access-date=2024-12-28 |website=HuffPost UK |language=en}} but one of the key themes of the play is Ableism and the attitudes of his family and the court towards Richard, in part shaping whom he became and how he acted.

Since 2004, King Richard III has been played by the following disabled actors:

• Michael Patrick,{{Cite web |title=The Tragedy of Richard III |url=https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/whats-on/the-tragedy-of-richard-iii?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwo8S3BhDeARIsAFRmkOMxTu_tnHEVNxF5oY2k-jGV3fHujTuxjRmlI8G9UU-5Vfg9eBb_iD0aAkP3EALw_wcB |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=Lyric Theatre Belfast |language=en}} 2024 at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast{{Cite web |title=The Lyric Theatre is celebrating following a host of critically acclaimed reviews for its latest major production, The Tragedy of Richard III. |url=https://lyrictheatre.co.uk/about-us/news/reviews-richardiii-agreement |access-date=2024-10-31 |website=Lyric Theatre Belfast |language=en}}
• Zak Ford-Williams (Alternate), 2024 at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast
• Katy Sullivan{{Cite web |last=Reid |first=Kerry |date=2024-02-13 |title=Richard III at Chicago Shakespeare is flashy and fun |url=https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/theater/theater-review/richard-iii-chicago-shakespeare-theater-edward-hall/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=Chicago Reader |language=en-US}} 2024 at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in Chicago
• Arthur Hughes,{{Cite news |last=Akbar |first=Arifa |date=2022-07-01 |title=Richard III review – Shakespeare's supervillain breezes through the bloodbath |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2022/jul/01/richard-iii-review-rsc-stratford-arthur-hughes |access-date=2024-09-23 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} 2022 at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon
• Kate Mulvany,{{Cite web |last=Peard |first=Anne-Marie |date=2017-04-22 |title=Bell Shakespeare: Richard 3 |url=https://www.aussietheatre.com.au/reviews/bell-shakespeare-richard-3 |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=AussieTheatre.com |language=en-AU}} 2022 at Bell Shakespeare in Melbourne
• Tom Mothersdale,{{Cite news |last=Wyver |first=Kate |date=2019-03-07 |title=Richard III review – Tom Mothersdale hypnotises as the unhinged overlord |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2019/mar/07/richard-iii-review-tom-mothersdale-bristol-old-vic#:~:text=Tom%20Mothersdale's%20Richard%20III,pleasure%20to%20watch%20him%20break |access-date=2024-09-23 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} 2019 at the Bristol Old Vic in Bristol
• Jan Potměšil,{{Cite web |title=Divadlo v Celetné » Richard III. |url=https://www.divadlovceletne.cz/program/richard-iii-2/ |access-date=2024-09-23}} 2017 at Theater in Celetná & Klubovna,{{Cite web |title=Divadlo v Celetné |url=https://www.divadlovceletne.cz/ |access-date=2024-09-27}} in Prague
• Mat Frazer,{{Cite news |last=Hickling |first=Alfred |date=2017-05-11 |title=Richard III review – Mat Fraser proves a brilliant villain for Northern Broadsides |url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/may/11/richard-iii-hull-truck-theatre-review-mat-fraser-northern-broadsides |access-date=2024-09-23 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} 2017 Northern Broadsides production at the Hull Truck Theatre in Kingston upon Hull, and Viaduct Theatre in Halifax
• Michael Patrick Thornton,{{Cite web |last=Adler |first=Tony |date=2016-03-17 |title=Richard III was always a monster. Now imagine him as RoboCop |url=https://chicagoreader.com/arts-culture/richard-iii-was-always-a-monster-now-imagine-him-as-robocop/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=Chicago Reader |language=en-US}} 2016 at The Gift Theatre{{Cite web |title=Home Page |url=https://thegifttheatre.org/ |access-date=2024-09-27 |website=The Gift Theatre |language=en-US}} in Chicago
• Peter Dinklage,{{Cite web |last=Rooney |first=David |date=2004-10-12 |title=Richard III |url=https://variety.com/2004/legit/reviews/richard-iii-11-1200530339/ |access-date=2024-09-23 |website=Variety |language=en-US}} 2004 at The Public Theatre in New York

In a recent article in The Stage,{{Cite web |title=Should only disabled actors play Shakespeare's Richard III? |url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/should-only-disabled-actors-play-shakespeares-richard-iii-michelle-terry-arthur-hughes-adjoa-andoh-tom-mothersdale |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=The Stage |language=En}} Josefa MacKinnon, creative programme developer for access and inclusion at the Royal Shakespeare Company, states that non-disabled actors playing the role as disabled should be a thing of the past.

“I think there are a lot of audiences that find it very difficult to watch non-disabled actors playing disabled characters.”

When it comes to casting disabled actors in Shakespeare, none have played such a range of non-disabled characters in the canon as disabled actor Esmond Knight, whom despite being blind was cast in 19 different roles in 12 of Shakespeare's plays. These demonstrate the range of characters that can be played by disabled actors within the canon.

Source:{{Cite web |title=Film Credits |url=http://www.esmondknight.org.uk/page-50/ |access-date=2025-03-26 |website=Esmond Knight |language=en}}

• Camillo in A Winter's Tale, Cambridge Theatre London (1966)
• Antonio in The Merchant of Venice, Old Vic Theatre (1963)
• Baptista in The Taming of the Shrew, Aldwych Theatre (1960)
• Belzanor in Antony and Cleopatra, St Jame's Theatre, London (1951)
• Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, King's Theatre, Hammersmith (1946)

• Ghost/Gravedigger in Hamlet
• Christopher Sly in The Taming of the Shrew
• Leontes in The Winter's Tale
• Thersites in Troilus and Cressida
• Chatillon in King John
• Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice

• Old Man in King Lear (1984){{Citation |last=Elliott |first=Michael |title=King Lear |date=1984-01-26 |type=Drama |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087561/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_2_cdt_t_7 |access-date=2025-03-26 |others=Colin Blakely, Leo McKern, Robert Lindsay |publisher=Granada Television}}
• Priam in Troilus and Cressida (1981){{Citation |last=Miller |first=Jonathan |title=Troilus & Cressida |date=1981-11-07 |type=Drama |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083228/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_2_cdt_t_13 |access-date=2025-03-26 |others=Charles Gray, Anton Lesser, Tony Steedman |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Time-Life Television Productions}}
• Lepidus in Antony and Cleopatra (1981){{Citation |last=Miller |first=Jonathan |title=Antony & Cleopatra |date=1981-04-20 |type=Drama, History, Romance |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080374/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_2_cdt_t_14 |access-date=2025-03-26 |others=John Paul, Jonathan Adams, Jane Lapotaire |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Time-Life Television Productions}}
• Ratcliffe in Richard III (1955){{Citation |last=Olivier |first=Laurence |title=Richard III |date=1956-03-11 |type=Biography, Drama, History |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049674/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_2_cdt_t_107 |access-date=2025-03-26 |others=Laurence Olivier, Cedric Hardwicke, Nicholas Hannen |publisher=London Film Productions, L.O.P.}}
• Banquo in Macbeth (1949){{Citation |last=O'Ferrall |first=George More |title=Macbeth/II |date=1949-02-24 |type=Drama |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5525294/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_2_cdt_t_115 |access-date=2025-03-26 |others=Arthur Wontner, Patrick Macnee, Peter Mullins |publisher=British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)}}
• Bernardo in Hamlet (1948){{Citation |last=Olivier |first=Laurence |title=Hamlet |date=1948-06-11 |type=Drama |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040416/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_2_cdt_t_118 |access-date=2025-03-26 |others=Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, John Laurie |publisher=Two Cities Films}}
• Fluellen - Captain in the English Army in Henry V (1944){{Citation |last=Olivier |first=Laurence |title=The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fifth with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France |date=1945-10-28 |type=Biography, Drama, History |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036910/?ref_=nm_flmg_job_2_cdt_t_125 |access-date=2025-03-26 |others=Laurence Olivier, Robert Newton, Leslie Banks |publisher=Two Cities Films}}

Incidental disability portrayal is different to authentic portrayal as it is about having the right to portray a role regardless of whether a character is scripted as having a disability or not. An example of this is Bridgerton series 3 on Netflix, 2024. Shondaland cast two visibly disabled actors in roles that were not scripted with a disability story. Sophie Woolley{{Cite web |date=2024-07-24 |title=Sophie Woolley |url=https://www.sophiewoolley.com/ |access-date=2024-11-21 |website=Sophie Woolley |language=en-US}} was cast as Lady Stowell, and Zak Ford-Williams{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=mDVcG5fKAu_GFCUL&v=kc6pakEsFr0&feature=youtu.be |title=S3 E5: Disability in Bridgerton & Other Period Dramas |date=2024-07-22 |last=The Wheelchair Activist |access-date=2024-09-24 |via=YouTube}} as Lord Remmington.{{Cite web |last=Alfonseca |first=Kiara |date=2024-06-13 |title='Bridgerton' season 3 captures disability, neurodiversity in regency era |url=https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/bridgerton-season-3-uplifts-disability-neurodiversity-explore-lgbtq/story?id=110980876 |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=ABC News |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Dow |first=Grace W. |date=2024-06-16 |title=Disability Representation in Bridgerton |url=https://gracedowwrites.com/2024/06/16/disability-representation-in-bridgerton/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=Grace Dow Writes |language=en-US}}

In Theatre and Disability terms if a play does not say how a character enters a room, why do we assume they walked. Unconscious biases towards disabled actors are seen as the biggest barriers to inclusion.

Zak Ford-Williams wrote in 2024, "I feel amidst the advances being made embedding D/deaf, neurodivergent and disability equality within our industry, a disabled person on a stage or screen is still a political act. The presence of marginalised groups can bring about social and political change: the normalised presence of marginalised groups cements it."{{Cite web |date=2023-11-10 |title=Advice for disabled actors from Zak Ford-Williams, from the Actors' & Performers' Yearbook 2024 {{!}} Actors and Performers |url=https://actorsandperformers.com/advice-for-disabled-actors-from-zak-ford-williams-actors-performers-yearbook-2024/ |access-date=2025-01-08 |language=en-US}}

In 2014 despite his award-winning portrayal of Professor Stephen Hawking the film The Theory of Everything, the casting of Eddie Redmayne came under scrutiny{{Cite web |title=Able-bodied actors in disabled roles: modern-day 'blacking up'… or is it? |url=https://www.themermaidinthegherkinjar.com/disabled-actors-in-film/893#:~:text=He%20is%20a%20good%20'fit,occurred%20so%20many%20years%20ago. |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=www.themermaidinthegherkinjar.com}} as to whether portraying someone with a progressive condition constituted "cripping-up",{{Cite news |last=Harris |first=Scott Jordan |date=2015-01-20 |title=Why The Theory of Everything Is a Disappointing Depiction of Disability |url=https://slate.com/culture/2015/01/the-theory-of-everything-and-disability-why-eddie-redmayne-shouldnt-get-the-oscar-for-playing-stephen-hawking.html |access-date=2024-09-26 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}} as this raised questions and suggestions that included having two actors, or even using CGI. The practicalities where all theoretical until in contrast the BBC's 2022 drama production Better, cast the disabled actor Zak Ford-Williams in a role where at first he had to mask his cerebral palsy, and then unmask it after his character Owen survives meningitis. Ford-Williams used his experience as a physically disabled actor who has had to learn to walk again twice after medial procedures, which demonstrated the possibility of disabled actors playing progressive conditions.{{Cite web |title=Interview with Zak Ford-Williams who plays Owen in Better |url=https://www.pressparty.com/pg/newsdesk/BBC1/view/314859/ |access-date=2024-09-24 |website=Pressparty |language=en}}

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Disability theatre

Category:Ableism in the United States

Category:Ableism in the United Kingdom

Category:Plays and musicals about disability

Category:Fictional characters with disabilities

Category:Disability in the arts

Category:Ableism

Category:Films about people with paraplegia or tetraplegia

Category:Films about disability

Category:Disability in television

Category:Films about Franklin D. Roosevelt

Category:Television shows about disability

Category:Television episodes about disability

Category:Disability

Category:Disability rights

Category:Disability culture

Category:Cultural depictions of disabled people

Category:Works about amputees

Category:Films about amputees

Category:Films about blind people

Category:Films about deaf people

Category:Television shows about deaf people