# Differently-Abled Actors and Actresses **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 8, 2022, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118 "2022-02-08T19:03:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/21 "2022-02-08T20:33:47Z")
Indian mega-star Hrithik Roshan famously has two thumbs on his right hand. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/22 "2022-02-08T20:35:56Z")
Michael O’Hare, probably best known as Commander Jeffrey Sinclair on _Babylon 5_, suffered from severe mental illness. His paranoid delusions and hallucinations apparently made it increasing difficult for him to work, but he still finished out the first season, and returned for a couple of guest appearances in later seasons. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/23 "2022-02-08T20:39:08Z")
Jewell also had a memorable role in _Deadwood_. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/24 "2022-02-08T20:45:05Z")
Another actor with cerebral palsy is Micah Fowler, one of the stars of the sitcom _Speechless_. However, unlike his character, JJ, Fowler is able to speak. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/25 "2022-02-08T20:45:17Z")
Russell Harvard, who played the deaf hitman Mr. Wrench on _Fargo_ (the TV Series), is deaf in real life. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/26 "2022-02-08T20:51:20Z")
[Ryan O’Connell](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryan_O%27Connell) has cerebral palsy, and stars in the show _Special_ which is based on his memoirs. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/27 "2022-02-08T20:56:47Z")
I’m surprised no one mentioned Christopher Reeve yet. He continued acting after he got paralyzed from the shoulders down in a horse-riding accident. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/28 "2022-02-08T21:02:36Z")
Harold Russell lost two hands in an accident early on during World War II, and his character in The Best Years of Our Lives highlighted that. He was only in a couple other things during his career. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/29 "2022-02-08T21:07:23Z")
> [@Chingon](#): > > Indian mega-star Hrithik Roshan famously has two thumbs on his right hand. What??? Bet he has no trouble getting a ride… ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/30 "2022-02-08T21:10:06Z")
Robert David Hall, who played the medical examiner in pretty much the whole run of the original CSI is a double leg amputee, the result an accident involving an 18-wheeler. Longtime TV game show host Bill Cullen had a lot of mobility problems due to polio and an automobile accident. You can read more about it in [his wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cullen). It recounts Mel Brooks’ having met him after one of the game shows and actually seeing him walk, thinking it was an act. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/31 "2022-02-08T21:10:17Z")
Nadia Albina is a UK actress who came to the attention of American audiences in the recent _Doctor Who: Flux_, playing Diane. She was born with a withered right arm; it is noticeable in the show, but no one makes note of it. James Doohan and Telly Savalas lost fingers, Doohan in the Normandy Invasion. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/32 "2022-02-08T21:19:42Z")
Losing an arm and a leg in a motorcycle accident didn’t end James Stacey’s acting career. (A conviction for child molestation did that.) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/33 "2022-02-08T21:25:30Z")
From Jim Stacy’s Wikipedia page: > Stacy’s ex-wife, actress and singer [Connie Stevens](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connie_Stevens), organized a 1974 celebrity gala to raise money for his expenses. The gala, whose attendees included [Frank Sinatra](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Sinatra) and [Barbra Streisand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbra_Streisand), raised $118,000 ($0.6 million today) for his expenses. Wow, interesting to read that the cost of health care in America was prohibitive back then too. Connie Stevens may have unwittingly invented GoFundMe. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/34 "2022-02-08T21:26:13Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Stephen Colbert is deaf in one ear. I did not know that, but I noticed a long time ago that he had one ear that stuck out at kind of a weird angle. Is that the same ear? Does one have anything to do with the other? ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/35 "2022-02-08T21:29:34Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > I did not know that, but I noticed a long time ago that he had one ear that stuck out at kind of a weird angle. Is that the same ear? Does one have anything to do with the other? Yes. I guess to perform the surgery he had on his perforated eardrum, they remove the ear and put it back. It’s hard to put back correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/36 "2022-02-08T21:39:04Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Stephen Colbert is deaf in one ear. As is Rob Lowe. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/37 "2022-02-08T21:39:42Z")
[Mat Fraser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mat_Fraser_(actor)) (the actor, not the athlete) has malformed arms caused by in utero exposure to thalidomide. Not (necessarily) a permanent condition, but [Timothy Omundson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Omundson) (of _Psych_ fame) suffered a major stroke in 2017 which impaired his ability to walk; he continues to work as he slowly recovers. Tim Curry likewise suffered a stroke in 2012 and now uses a wheelchair, but still does voice acting work. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/38 "2022-02-08T22:07:32Z")
I don’t see any credits for him since 2008 but an actor named Howie Seago is deaf from birth. I saw him in a second season episode of ST-TNG and was impressed. “Loud as a Whisper” was the episode that made me not give up on the series. > **[Howie Seago - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0780462/?ref_=tt_cl_t_12)** > > Howie Seago. Actor: Beyond Silence. Howie Seago is one of the most engaged deaf actors in the USA. For more than 20 years he's been working as an actor, director and producer all over the world. Deaf from birth, Seago started to develop his mimic... ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/39 "2022-02-08T22:07:53Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Not (necessarily) a permanent condition, but [Timothy Omundson](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Omundson) (of _Psych_ fame) suffered a major stroke in 2017 which impaired his ability to walk; he continues to work as he slowly recovers. See, I read something like this and I think “he seemed just fine in Galavant!” And then I check imdb and see that Galavant was 2015-2016. Yeesh! He’s played a character on “This Is Us” the last couple seasons, Kate and Toby’s next door neighbor who is also recovering from a stroke and has difficulty walking. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2022, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118/40 "2022-02-08T22:10:56Z")
Do cartoon actors count? There’s a Family Guy episode where Peter (for reasons I cannot recall) is directing paraplegic Joe in a movie. Peter keeps getting mad that Joe will not get out of his wheelchair in the scene - because the _character he’s playing_ can walk just fine. ETA: here we go [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/xT2WQvLB0wk/maxresdefault.jpg "Family Guy - Peter Makes A Movie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xT2WQvLB0wk) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/differently-abled-actors-and-actresses/959118.md?page=3)