When art imitates life

THESE STARS ARE CHANGING THEIR INDUSTRY FOR THE BETTER

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Eric Dane in Brilliant Minds

Dane, 53, used his experience with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

(ALS) – a diagnosis he revealed last April – to portray a firefighter and 9/11 hero struggling with the neurological illness. “I have never

seen this happen in my entire career, but he essentially got

a 10-minute standing ovation,” show creator Michael Grassi told USA Today of one scene.

Kiera Allen in Run

"There's so much more that people haven't seen in terms of what disabled artists can bring to the table, because there's been so little media representation," Allen, 28, told Harper's Bazaar after shooting the 2020 film, which also starred Sarah Paulson. It was Allen's first acting role and she was naturally thrilled that producers chose a real-life wheelchair user for the role of teenage Chloe. "I feel very lucky. The timing was right. They wanted authenticity," she added.

James Caverly in Only Murders in the Building

Caverly's 2021 appearance on Selena Gomez, Steve Martin and Martin Short's acclaimed show was groundbreaking, to say the least. "Framing the entire episode in the perspective of a deaf person is a subversive act," the 36-year-old, who has been deaf since birth, told Business Insider at the time. "It forces the audience to listen closely, but with their eyes instead of ears."

Peter Dinklage in The Station Agent