Neurodivergent stereotypes in the acting world

Dear Readers,

I have always loved performing on stage. As a person with Kabuki Syndrome I struggle with hand-motor skills, so acting is my chance to be creative. Earlier this week, I was listening to a podcast starring neurodivergent actor Bradley Riches. Bradley and the host spoke about neurodivergent stereotypes on stage and screen, and they had an interesting conversation about whether neurotypical people should be chosen to play autistic or neurodivergent characters. One problem they discussed was how “the industry doesn’t want to work with ‘difficult’ people, so they go with neurotypical people who are a bad stereotype of what autism is.”

Hearing this discussion prompted me to reflect on a film that came out a couple of years ago called ‘Music’, directed by global popstar Sia. The film caused a lot of controversy among the autism community. The film’s lead character was severely autistic. However the actress cast to play her was neurotypical and a close friend of the director. When fans discovered this they took to social media to ask why Sia didn’t cast a disabled actor for the part. Sia’s initial response to this was defensive, “Why don’t you watch my film before you judge it?”. However, after receiving further criticism and questions, the singer finally admitted that she had originally hired an autistic girl to play the main character, but the actress found filming ‘unpleasant and stressful’. Jane Harris from the UK National Autistic Society said to journalists, “We know and have worked with many talented autistic actors and we think they should have had a chance to play the part of an autistic character." A number of fans clearly felt the same way.

I looked closer into the research that Sia undertook before and during the filming. Sia had contacted a charity called Autism Speaks for help in developing the characters. Autism Speaks is a charity that claims to support families with a child on the autism spectrum. But in reality they are researching ways in which autism can be cured. For this reason, Autism Speaks is strongly condemned by the neurodivergent community.

But is it always the case that, in order to accurately portray a neurodivergent character, the actor themselves must also be neurodivergent? Some would say not. In the 1988 film Rainman Dustin Hoffman was cast as the main character of the film, Raymond Babbitt, who was diagnosed with high-functioning autism. To prepare for the role, Hoffman carried out extensive research and educated himself about what it was like to live on the autistic spectrum, including by meeting Kim Peek, who the movie was based on. By doing this, Hoffman was able to better understand the character, ultimately leading to a highly popular and groundbreaking portrayal of a neurodivergent person.

A film called Ezra premiered this year. The director, Tony Goldwin, who is autistic, insisted on casting a neurodivergent actor to play the lead role. In an interview, Goldwin spoke about the importance of creating an authentic film that accurately represented the autism community, “When we see portrayals like this on film, those things really change the way we're treated in real life. You know, it's important to get these things right because there's so little portrayals of us, and generally, they aren't portrayed by autistic actors.” I found it interesting to read about how the cast was prepared for filming. Tony said “I just went through all the sort of situations that could arise on set and how to be respectful of William [the lead actor], how to treat sensory issues right... And I think that, in reality, what happened was, by doing that, it actually made a much more positive set environment for everyone.” The director also allowed the actor to improvise and contribute to the role, “One of the things that I really pushed William to do is bring his own spin to things because I think that's why his character resonates so much with people - because it's authentic.”

I personally find it unnecessary to suggest that neurotypical people should never be cast to play autistic or neurodivergent characters. Acting is, by definition, an exercise in portraying someone else. But, as is the case in so many walks of life, failure to make reasonable provision for neurodivergent people can mean employers and film directors missing out on the best talent and can lead to worse results.

I hope you enjoyed this blog post, and I can’t wait to see you back next time!