The only three disabled people to win an Oscar
The Academy Awards is an area of hot dispute among movie fans and critics, with some claiming that they are irrelevant in the modern industry, failing to keep up with the times. Others, meanwhile, continue to celebrate them as a time of much-needed cinematic self-love. One thing for sure is that it’s taken the Oscars far too long to catch up with the diversity of contemporary cinema, where people of different genders and ethnicities are vying for equality in the industry’s highest positions.
The iconic annual awards show has certainly come a long way, with two of the previous winners for ‘Best Director’ being given to female filmmakers, the first for Chloé Zhao’s Nomadland in 2021 and the second for Jane Campion’s Power of the Dog in 2022. The Oscars are breaking new ground in other categories, too, with Michelle Yeoh becoming the first Asian performer to take home a major acting award in 2023 for her role in Everything, Everywhere All at Once.
Whilst progress has been made, it’s clear that there’s still more to be done to properly represent the diversity of the modern industry. For example, only three people with physical disabilities have ever taken home an iconic Oscar statuette, with the first being Harold Russell back in 1947.
Never intending to become an actor, Russell’s life changed after he enlisted in the American army during WWII and was the victim of a tragic explosion where he lost both of his hands. Following his traumatic experience, Russell attended Boston University and appeared in the documentary Diary of a Sergeant, whereby he was spotted by filmmaker William Wyler. Wanting to make a movie about WWII himself, Wyler thought it apt to cast an actual veteran in his 1947 film The Best Years of Our Lives, where Russell claimed his award for ‘Best Actor in a Supporting Role’.
Russell held the title of being the only physically disabled person to ever win an Oscar for 40 years until Marlee Matlin came into the scene in 1986 with the movie Children of a Lesser God. Winning the Oscar for ‘Best Leading Actress’, the deaf performer gave a heartwarming speech, thanking her category rivals Sissy Spacek, Sigourney Weaver, Jane Fonda and Kathleen Turner, among many others.
The third and most recent disabled recipient of an Oscar was the American actor Troy Kotsur, another deaf performer, who took home the Academy Award for his role in Sian Heder’s ‘Best Picture’ winner CODA. Winning ‘Best Supporting Actor’, Kotsur gave an incredible performance alongside the likes of Emilia Jones, Daniel Durant and the aforementioned Oscar winner Marlee Matlin.
Whilst these three actors currently remain the only disabled performers ever to win an Academy award, we can only hope that Hollywood will continue their efforts to better represent such people in front of and behind the camera, with the potential for even more Oscars success in the future.
