Emmerdale actor James Moore has expressed his disappointment over a new US drama, which has cast a non-disabled actress in a disabled row.
James, who has cerebral palsy, spoke out on Twitter, after discovering that American star Perry Mattfeld had been cast as the lead in a new drama centred around a blind woman, despite not being blind herself.
He wrote that this was “yet another show casting a non disabled actor in a disabled role”, adding: “At the end of the day – the product will suffer.
“The best actor to play a disabled part will always be disabled themselves. The difference is in life experience. No matter the character.”
James joined Emmerdale in June 2018, playing Ryan Stocks, the son of Charity Dingle.
He’s already gone down a storm, picking up Best Newcomer at the National Television Awards earlier this year, in what was one of the night’s stand-out moments.
His comments about non-disabled actors playing disabled roles mirror a conversation sparked back in January, over Bryan Cranston’s portrayal of a wheelchair-user in the film The Upside.
Cherry-Lee Houston, the star of another ITV soap Coronation Street, told HuffPost UK at the time: “My historic knowledge of how to use a wheelchair and how people with disabilities are treated is 20 years solid.
“There are nuances that a non-disabled actor will never be able to put in or portray, so what it’s perpetuating is society still getting this image of disability which isn’t based in disability.
“It’s based in a perception of what disability is, from a non-disabled point of view, which tends to be a negative or fearful one.”
