Alex consulted on film ‘Ezra’

Post Reply New Topic

In 1981, a 21-year-old Tony Goldwyn met a 23-year-old Tony Spiridakis at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, where the aspiring actors developed a fast friendship that has seen them take on the role of best man at each other’s weddings and godfather to each other’s children. Forty-two years later, Goldwyn and Spiridakis have reunited professionally with a big-hearted, multigenerational family drama that made its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Directed by Goldwyn and written by Spiridakis, “Ezra” follows Max Bernal (Bobby Cannavale), a late-night comedy writer turned stand-up comic who decides to take his 11-year-old autistic son, Ezra (William A. Fitzgerald), who has been ordered to attend a special school, on a cross-country road trip without the permission of his ex-wife, Jenna (Rose Byrne), or his own father, Stan (Robert de Niro). It’s a deeply personal story for Spiridakis, who went on a similar journey of acceptance with his young autistic son, Dimitri, over a dozen year

From the outset, Goldwyn, Spiridakis and their creative team were adamant about casting an actor with autism in the title role and hiring cast and crew members who had a personal experience with neurodivergence. They spoke with other parents who had children with autism, including producer William Horberg and “Parenthood” creator Jason Katims, and enlisted the help of Alex Plank (the founder of WrongPlanet.net) and acting coach Elaine Hall (creator of a Los Angeles theater group called the Miracle Project).

Is the actor playing Ezra Autistic?

From the outset, Goldwyn, Spiridakis and their creative team were adamant about casting an actor with autism in the title role