BOSTON (AP) –
Oscar-winning actress Octavia Spencer says Hollywood wants to do a better casting for other people with disabilities.
The star of “The Help” and “Hidden Figures” is from a new timed video crusade with the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act this month.
“The cast of healthy actors in roles for disabled characters is offensive, unfair and deprives a whole network of other people of opportunity,” he says in the clip of just three minutes.
Spencer argues that the industry will have to recognize that “nothing can update the delight lived and the original representation.” He also points out how the entertainment industry has been notoriously slow to embrace diversity.
“It’s only been a few decades since white actors played black, Asian and even Native American characters on screen,” Spencer says. “There is no explanation for why we continue to repeat the same mistakes of the past. Together, we’ll have to do better and we can do better.”
The crusade was introduced through the Ruderman Family Foundation, a Boston-based organization that advocates for others with disabilities.
Earlier this year, the base published an open letter to the entertainment industry by making a signed order through George Clooney, Joaquin Phoenix, Ed Norton, Bryan Cranston, Mark Ruffalo, Glenn Close, Eva Longoria and other prominent names in Hollywood.