Autistic TV characters

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I see that the media is asking Alex to advise them on this but my question is, why don't they get autistic TV characters to play themselves as there are allot of unemployed autistic people so why do they get NT to act autistic.

Because being an actor is really hard. And if there's one job that people on the spectrum would be bad at, its acting.

They should just stop using actors altogether and always hire real people to play themselves. It's called "acting" for a reason. But in all seriousness, I do agree, it'd be cool to have more openly autistic actors playing people with or without autism.

Some may do but we are used to acting in everyday life so I believe some could be very good at this specially the type that are into arts ect..

I've met a lot of actors who I'm 100% sure are on the spectrum (some have told me) but it's never advertised that they are so it's hard to know unless you meet them in person

I'm good at acting. My dad is an actor. I wouldn't want to work as an actor though. I do like improvisation, learning lines is more difficult. There are some famous actors who are autistic, like Daryl Hannah and Paddy Considine.

Dan Ackroyd was nominated for an Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy.


My pet peeve is that there are several characters on TV these days who are clearly depicted as being unmistakably Aspergian, but the producers of the show never allow it to be stated openly in the scripts - like Sheldon Cooper and Temperance 'Bones' Brennan. There was some speculation by another character on House once that Gregory House might have AS, but they never followed up on it.

I love acting. But I don't know if I could play an autistic character

Some actors really do a believable job, though. Matthew Gray Gubler playing Dr. Spencer Reid from Criminal Minds is one. And now that I see Eminem is on the spectrum, at least that's one more for our credit since he is an actor.

I am 100% British NHS (not easy to access) diagnosed Aspergers yet even the people who know me best struggle to accept my diagnosis because I act so normal. People expect people with autism to look weird or act weird but that's just as stupid as saying Chinese people are good at maths. I act all the time - every day - with everyone with because that is how I have learned to exist. When I was asked to appear in a play (several years ago) in the Edinburgh Fringe, out of the blue, I accepted and was subsequently asked to be lead or thereabouts in every production that company put on - headhunted from one show to the next. I had never acted on stage before yet it seemed I was good enough to be asked back. It only ended when I moved too far away to be able to do it any more. My point is, people with ASD do little except act and should therefore be trusted to play themselves on screen. It is ridiculous that the talent of acting should be even considered as being outwith the autistic sphere of ability.

Bingo. The biggest source of comments in articles or youtube videos about Daryl Hannah is why she would choose acting as her profession and the above thought immediately popped in my head. It was the promotion involved that forced her to take a hiatus from acting not the acting itself.

Actually AS are often very good at acting "normal" for brief periods of time

Is your dad a famous actor? Does he play on stage or play in any movies or TV shows? is he aspie too?

Last edited by League_Girl on 16 Nov 2013, 2:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I sort of think people without disabilities playing people with them - including autistic people - is kind of like white people acting wearing blackface. It's offensive.

He's not famous or diagnosed as an aspie.

Most of us have a very unique personality that makes us ideal actors. I have had people try to get me to do it in the passed. Headhunters??? I think they call them. Some actors must be like us, it just goes unannounced. I have had personal interests that kept me from doing it mostly. Some want your money to teach you to act. I'm not into that either. There is also the fact that you have to deal with a bunch of emotionless paparazzi dweebs that is kinda scary. The whole celebrity mess. And the fact that most celebrities are kinda narcissistic. Don't know about the rest of you aspies, but I'm pritty sure there about the hardest people for us to deal with. You really have to learn to keep your distance. They can really mess your head up. Other than that, now that I am older, wiser, and accomplished, I would probably do it if I had the opportunity. Soo. If you have a part for a race car, motorcycle, yaya, mechanical type genius, drop me a line. Hahahah!! !!